A Different Path
by mrsjackturner
Summary: The events that took the lives of James and Lily Potter cannot be changed, but what if the actions of Sirius Black afterwards weren't so set in stone? Raising Harry AU RL/SB
1. Blackest Night

**Title: **A Different Path

**Pairing: **Remus/Sirius

****Summary****: ****The events that took place on Halloween 1981 in Godric's Hollow can't be changed, but what if the actions afterwards weren't so set in stone?

**Disclaimer: **Characters and world belong to J.K Rowling and not me. I'm just borrowing them.

**Rating: **PG-13

**Beta: **silvan_lady

* * *

><p>Broken bricks.<p>

Burnt wood.

Eerie silence.

Everything was wrong.

The house in Godric's Hollow was not supposed to be razed to the ground. It was supposed to be a happy place. Somewhere that cocooned the laughter and jokes of his best friends and their son. But it was not like that. Not anymore.

Peter. That rat. Hah! How true that had been!

It was his fault. All of it. The dirty, scheming little rat had sold them out. How could he? Why did he betray them? What had Voldemort offered him?

Not that it truly mattered. Not to the Potters. Not to Sirius. Nothing really mattered when you were dead. Sirius, although not physically gone, barely kept his mind functioning; surrounded by devastation as he was. He staggered aimlessly through what little was left of the house he had once known so well.

His legs failed him when he saw James.

Knees and hands scraped roughly on the rubble. Sirius' body shook uncontrollably. He crawled to his friend's side. Messy black hair. Just like always. However, unlike always James did not notice his presence.

No. No. No. No. No.

His grasping hand grabbed James' shoulder.

Not James. Not James. Not James.

He shook him gently as though afraid to wake him and then more firmly as desperation set in.

Wake up. Wake up.

But James did not wake. Did not move. No matter how peaceful he looked, he was not asleep. Sirius knew that, but believing it was something else entirely. How could James be dead? It was just a prank. Had to be a prank. Because his brother in all but blood could not be dead.

Sirius' hand dropped from James' shoulder. He was cold. He was gone.

Sirius knew that death was something he should be used to. So many members of the Order had lost their lives in this fight. This war. This stupid messed up battle where friend turned against friend and lover against lover. But he could not have prepared for this. Not for James. Not for Lily. Not for Remus. Not for Peter. Certainly not for baby Harry. He knew Voldemort wanted Harry dead. Just how could you ever grasp that it would really happen?

There was no Dark Mark in the sky. No skull. No snake. But there was death.

Was he still here? Had he not left yet?

Sirius could not bring himself to look around. All he could see was James. James and the blackened stones of the house.

He pulled James towards himself and held him tightly.

There was a soft pop. Apparition; his ears told him. Defend yourself; his survival instincts said. Sirius did not move. He just held James tighter.

Warm. A hand was on his shoulder. Another on his wrist. Kind. Gentle. Persuasive. Hands he knew as well as his own.

A voice he knew better. So calm. How could he sound that way?

"Let him go, Sirius."

No. No. No. Sirius shook his head.

The hand around his wrist moved. It cupped his cheek gently before firmly lifting his chin.

Warm eyes. Soft eyes. Sad eyes. They did not hide the pain like the voice did.

"I can hear Harry. He needs us, Sirius. Put James down and we'll go find him, all right?"

Harry? Alive? Was Lily with him?

Slowly Sirius released James. Hands helped him stand. A wand healed his cuts. An arm around his waist offered support.

They found Lily first. Red hair. Green eyes. Still beautiful. Fallen angel. The arm around him trembled slightly, but did not let go.

A pitiful cry reached Sirius' ears. Before he processed what was happening, the arm had left his waist and his strength waned once more. His legs held this time. He was not sure how.

An eternity passed. The warmth came back. With it a precious bundle of black and green and red. Red? Blood.

Sirius was nudged persuasively away from the house and made to sit on the kerb. His back to the house. His back to James and Lily.

The squirming, sniffling infant was placed delicately in his arms. Murmured incantations cleaned off the blood, but the wound did not heal. Not properly. It would scar.

A soft kiss was placed on Sirius' forehead. The warmth went away.

Harry wrapped his fingers tightly around Sirius' robes. The crying stopped. His breathing deepened. He slept safely in the arms of his godfather.

Sirius could hear spells being muttered; spells of preservation. Spells that were being placed on the bodies of his best friends. He held Harry more tightly to his chest. Harry did not stir.

"Why?" His voice sounded hoarse and for a moment Sirius did not even recognise it as his own.

"Why what? Why am I here? Why did it happen? Why is Harry alive?"

"Everything. Anything. Make it make sense."

"Dumbledore was worried. He'd heard things and knew I'd want to see for myself... I can't tell you what happened though. I know as much as you, less even."

"I wasn't... I didn't... I couldn't..."

"Sirius, I know you could never hurt them. Not everyone will believe you though. Dumbledore thinks you were the Secret-Keeper." A hand settled on Sirius' shoulder.

"But you believe me?" He needed this. A desperate, aching need not to be alone in this.

"Of course. It's James." It was as simple as that. Sirius slowly released the breath he had been holding.

Loud, booming footsteps interrupted their conversation.

"Is tha' him? Is tha' Harry?" A giant of a man stood over Sirius and Harry. "Professor Dumbledore sent me ter get him."

"No." Sirius' voice stronger than it had been all night. "You can't take him, Hagrid. He's my godson and I'll look after him. It's what... James and Lily... They wanted me to look after him."

Hagrid sniffled loudly under his bushy beard. "It's what Professor Dumbledore wants. Says it's best fer Harry."

"I don't give a damn what he thinks is best!" Sirius growled. He drew himself to his full height which, although quite impressive, did very little given the size of the other man. "Look at what happened the last time we followed his advice!" Gentle hands prised Harry out of Sirius' arms as the baby stirred at the noise. Harry quieted again almost immediately. "No, James and Lily wanted me to look after him and that's what I'll do. It's the least I can do. I'll be there for their son when I wasn't for them."

"Now wait just a minute! Dumbledore did what he could ter protect Lily an' James. Yeh know that, Sirius."

He knew it was his own fault. Sirius had swapped with Peter at the last moment, but blaming someone else eased the guilt that was crushing his soul. "It was supposed to stop this from happening. They weren't supposed to... die."

"We should probably hear him out." Always the damn voice of reason. "I'll help make sure you keep Harry, but he probably knows something we don't. How about we go together?"

"Fine. We'll go. But you're not to let go of Harry. No matter what. You give him to no one other than me."

"Do you still not trust me?"

"I always-"

"Don't lie, Sirius. I know it's why you didn't tell me you had switched. Being a werewolf finally caught up with me where you were concerned, didn't it?" Sirius tried to interrupt, to defend himself and not have his only friend left in this world hate him, but was shot down. "It doesn't matter right now. It isn't important. Harry is though. We need to get him to Dumbledore."

Sirius knew Hagrid was not happy with this turn of events. Nevertheless, two stubborn wizards were not to be messed with; especially when those wizards had considered the Potters their family. Grudgingly, Hagrid told them where he was to meet Dumbledore, and when. But Sirius wanted this over with. Instead of going to where Harry's sorry excuse for relations lived, Sirius decided to go directly to Hogwarts. In all likelihood, the headmaster would be there. The older wizard would have run his war efforts entirely out of Hogwarts if he did not have the children to protect. This needed dealing with as soon as possible, not in twenty-four hours. No one was taking Harry away. Not when he had lost so much already. They were not taking him too.

...

He had to find him. Find Sirius. Make it look like he was the one. Dumbledore would suspect Sirius. Sirius should have been the Secret-Keeper after all.

Keep running. Keep searching. Find him.

Sirius would know by now what he had done. His former friend would want to find him. Peter had to get Sirius off his back, and quickly. If he shifted the blame to Sirius, that should work. He had not gone through all of this to get caught now.

Godric's Hollow.

Sirius would go to the house. He would have to see it for himself. He would need to see James. Not that Peter knew if there would be anything to see. Once he had told the Dark Lord the Potters' location he had not had the courage to follow. Self preservation was all well and good, but he could not watch his friends get slaughtered.

Peter made up his mind, Apparated to Godric's Hollow and quickly transformed into a rat. No one would find him in this form. He was safe for the moment. The rat scurried closer to the ruins of the house. Muggle and wizard officials rushed around trying to make sense of the disaster and cover it up.

"Such a shame," Peter heard a Muggle healer say, "too young to be killed. They should be raising a family not being put in the ground."

"Strange though, don't you think? They don't even look like the explosion touched them."

Peter swerved sharply as a wizard dashed forwards to wipe their minds and nearly stood on him. So Lily and James were dead then. Not that he had any doubt about it; they would have done anything to protect Harry. Silly really; nothing was worth dying for.

The closer he got to the house the more wizards he found.

"Didn't they have a son? I wonder where he is."

"I heard You-Know-Who himself was after the boy."

"A baby? Don't be ridiculous. What would he want with a child?"

"Who knows why he does anything?"

"Well, if he really was after the kid maybe he took him?"

No, Peter thought, the Dark Lord would have killed him just like he killed Lily and James. There was no point drawing it out any longer than he had to. Perhaps they had just missed his body? After all it was such a small thing to find in all of this destruction.

The rat ran. Through the rubble, the wood, the burnt clothes and furniture and toys towards the cot he knew Harry slept in. This devastation was strange and not what he had expected to find. The Dark Lord did not leave a mess like this. Had something gone wrong?

He reached the cot. No Harry. No blankets. However, there was a faint smell. A scent that made Peter's blood run cold. It was one he knew in his rat form very well; something lupine hidden under a human odour. Remus had been here. The werewolf had taken Harry, and that must mean...

Harry was alive? No. It could not be possible. What did that mean for the Dark Lord? Peter suddenly realised that maybe Sirius was not the only one who would be after him.

He ran.


	2. Fresh Starts

...

Remus had been as good as his word and kept tight hold of Harry for the entire journey. He had only relinquished him when Sirius was ready to take him back. Dumbledore had met them when they landed the motorbike. Their old headmaster did not seem surprised that they were there. Unfortunately, Dumbledore seemed slightly wary of Sirius and whilst he did not try to take Harry away, Sirius knew he wanted nothing more.

The journey through the castle was deathly silent. Even the portraits were subdued and only observed, without passing judgement, as the peculiar foursome wound their way through the passages and up the stairs. Harry's first trip to Hogwarts should not have been like this. He should not be here because his parents were dead. His first time in Hogwarts was supposed to be the start of a great adventure.

Dumbledore's office was as Sirius remembered it from the many times he had been summoned there whilst in school. There were more interesting, shining, spinning things than had been there before, but it was essentially unchanged. Sirius still had the same sense of foreboding. It was as though he had broken the rules and was going to be punished for it. Only this time he was a grown man and he had not done anything wrong. Unless stupidity was wrong; then again it was the most common cause for him to be brought before the silver-haired professor.

The disappointed stare made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. How long could this silence go on? Should he say something first? He should really, since they were here because of him. Sirius opened his mouth; words refused to come.

Instead, Remus broke the silence.

"We wish to honour James and Lily's wishes, sir. They wanted Sirius to raise Harry should anything happen to them. Even Lily would not have wanted him raised by her sister."

"There are many reasons which make me think that Harry would be better off with them, Remus. Not least of all Sirius would appear to be the one that betrayed Lily and James and brought about their deaths."

A restraining hand was placed on his arm and Sirius realised he had been growling low in his throat. He stilled and quieted. Sirius would never have hurt James and Lily. Remus knew that and Sirius knew Remus would not let Dumbledore think that of him. No matter what he had done to Remus, Remus would forgive him. He had in the past anyway. Hopefully now was no different.

"You can't honestly believe that Sirius would have betrayed Lily and James?" Calm. Always so calm. It was as though Remus was simply discussing the weather, not the deaths of his friends. Sirius did not know how he could do it.

"He was their Secret-Keeper. James told me so himself."

Sirius shook his head violently. All this talking about him as though he was not there made him feel that he could not contribute verbally. Remus repeated his question with a determined look at Dumbledore, who eventually shook his head and agreed that it did not seem likely that Sirius would have. However, this was war and the Death Eaters made trust an easy thing to lose. How true that was made Sirius hate himself. He should have never stopped trusting Remus.

"Peter," Sirius said suddenly. "I switched with Peter. We didn't think they'd look for him... We didn't know... I went to check on him. We were supposed to meet and he wasn't there... He... he killed them... He handed them to Voldemort. That damn rat is hiding!" Sirius snarled.

"There is something that may help clear up this matter, at least until Mr Pettigrew is located." Dumbledore leant forwards and rested his chin on his steepled fingers. "One of the Death Eaters turned spy for us and imparted valuable knowledge of both their movements and certain distinguishing characteristics. After the events of last night they appear to have faded slightly, but they are still visible. I wonder if you could do me the courtesy of rolling up your left sleeve for me?"

Confused, Sirius glanced in Remus' direction to see an equally perplexed werewolf. Mindful of his armful of sleeping baby, Sirius hitched up the sleeve of his robes to reveal an expanse of unblemished white skin. The headmaster's eyes made Sirius' skin prickle under their intense scrutiny. Whatever Dumbledore was looking for he clearly did not see it as a small smile graced his lips.

"Well, I am happy to believe you for the time being. Voldemort would not have failed to brand the person who betrayed the Potters with his mark. However, I'm afraid I still cannot let you take him Sirius. I have a theory as to why Voldemort was destroyed and-"

"He was what?"

"Destroyed," Dumbledore repeated slowly. "The curse rebounded upon him. I do not believe him truly gone, but Harry has certainly brought about the beginning of the end."

"Harry?" Sirius felt like a fool for repeating Dumbledore once more.

"Yes, Harry. Do you not see how life will be for the boy, Sirius? Everyone will know of this before long. He'll be known as the boy who destroyed Voldemort. He'll be famous. Can you let him grow up with that? Let him have his head turned by people who just want to be close to the boy that lived? Better that he grows up away from all of this; has a chance at being a normal boy."

"Not with those people. They won't love him, they aren't his family. I'm his family." Sirius looked sidewards at his friend. He knew the hurt he had caused in not trusting Remus was there, yet Remus would never show it. "Remus is his family." He finished quietly, but he knew the other man had heard when the corners of his lips quirked upwards and momentarily broke his sombre expression.

"Not by blood. I believe that Lily sacrificed herself for Harry and that old magic, blood magic, is at work here. If he is to be truly protected from what is to come then he may need that security more than anything you alone could provide. Some of the Death Eaters still out there may want the glory of killing Harry for themselves, Sirius."

"Sirius won't be alone. He'll have me." What was Remus offering? Just to help him with Harry, or more? "Harry will have both of us. I honestly don't think Lily and James would want the alternative and I'd do anything to prevent that." So just Harry then.

"There is nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise." Well at least Dumbledore remembered that part of his personality: stubborn as a scorned Hippogriff. "I should have known the two of you would put up a fight. The four of you were always very close. We shall see how things progress then. For now I think we must use the utmost caution and believe it wise that you do not return to your homes. There are still many Death Eaters out there. Mr Pettigrew included of course; he is more than capable of leading them to you."

"I'll find him. Make him pay for what he's done."

"You will do no such thing, Sirius. Leave him to the Aurors. If you want to look after Harry I suggest you start acting responsibly. He has to come first, before your desire for revenge."

"He's right, Sirius. I know you. You won't think things through and then where will Harry be? With the Dursleys. I certainly won't be able to look after him alone." Remus did not give a reason why. Sirius knew the reason. Custody of a child would never be given to a werewolf.

"Fine. But he had better pay for this. I hope he rots in Azkaban for all eternity." Green eyes blinked sleepily up at Sirius. "He has to pay for what he did to you." Sirius' voice softened. He ruffled Harry's already scruffy black hair.

The toddler reached up and grabbed at Sirius' finger. "Sir's." Harry gurgled happily pulling himself into a sitting position. "Sir's!"

Sirius hugged him tightly; his world shrank to the size of the child in his arms. "I've missed you, little man. But I really am going to have to teach you to say my name properly."

"Sir's."

"Yeah, it's me." Now that the little boy was awake Sirius' need to find Peter was gone. Dumbledore and Remus were right. He needed to put Harry first now, not his revenge. It did not mean he no longer wanted to find Peter, but sometimes other things were more important. Sirius looked up at Dumbledore. "Where do you think we should go?"

**...**

It was a small house. Nothing special, but suited their needs perfectly. Three small bedrooms and an even smaller bathroom upstairs whilst downstairs contained only a reasonably-sized kitchen and a combined living and dining area. Well, if having a small table in the corner could be considered a dining room, Sirius was not sure that it did. Under the stairs there was a door. A door that led to the basement where Remus would spend any full moons he needed to before they could go home again. Wherever home was now.

Dumbledore had visited to set wards. A great many wards. He was not taking any chances. Once Dumbledore had left, Remus had added his own protection. Sirius was glad of the help as his grief had been playing havoc with his own magic. It had taken him two hours to assemble Harry's new cot and half way through he had given up on magic and built it the Muggle way. That, and Remus had always been better in Defence, not that Sirius would ever admit it aloud.

Harry seemed quite content as he crawled and tottered around under Remus' watchful eyes. Sirius wondered when he would ask for his parents. So far Harry seemed to think it was all a great adventure where he got to stay with his "uncles". He was far too young for Sirius to correct his assumption of it just being a short visit.

When Harry started to yawn, Sirius realised it was probably best to bathe him and put him to bed. He could not remember what time Lily and James used to put him down for the night, but he was pretty certain Harry was up later than normal. His suspicions were confirmed when Harry fell to sleep as soon as he was placed in the cot. The son of James was not usually one to go to sleep without a fight, or at least a few dozen stories.

"Sirius?" Remus asked when Sirius collapsed next to him on the sofa.

"Mhmm?"

"You know we have three bedrooms, right?"

"Of course I do." Sirius wondered where this was going. A small flicker of hope warmed him inside. Maybe Remus would want to stay in one of the rooms with him.

"Is there any reason why both Harry and his cot are in your room?" The flicker was snuffed out. As though Remus would ever come back after what he had done.

"In case he needs me in the night."

"That's why I Charmed the two-way mirrors to activate if there are any sounds coming from Harry's cot." Remus replaced the bookmark in his book and placed it carefully on the arm of the sofa. "You always have it on you. You'll hear him if he needs us."

"But what if I can't get to him quickly enough?" Sirius asked. He looked up the stairs to where he could see through the open door to Harry's cot. Remus' eyes followed his gaze.

"You can't watch him all of the time."

"I can. I have to make it up to them; up to him."

"You didn't do this to him."

"I did." Sirius' voice cracked and he tried to cover it up with a cough. "I made them make the switch. If it had been me it wouldn't have happened. They would still be here. He would still have his parents." When his voice faltered this time he did not hide it. He also did not hide the tears that streamed down his face. Remus' arm wrapped itself around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace. The dam inside him had completely shattered and sobs wracked his shuddering frame. "My fault." He gasped out against Remus' chest. "All my fault."

"No, Sirius. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know it was Peter. How could you have known?" Strong, familiar hands rubbed comforting circles on Sirius' back. Although they did little to ease his tears, Sirius prised himself away from the wet patch he had left on Remus' jumper.

"Should have suspected. He always hung out with people more powerful than himself. James. Me. You. Oh God." The tears stopped and Sirius' mouth dropped open. "Oh Merlin. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

Sirius leapt from the couch and paced manically around the room. His hand fisted tightly in his hair and he mumbled unintelligibly. After a few minutes of the frantic rambling he turned sharply to face Remus who had not moved from his seat.

"I'm so sorry." Sirius dropped to his knees in front of Remus, his hand reaching out for the other man's cheek before it clenched tightly and retracted. He had no right to touch. "So, so sorry Remus. Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry."

If Remus was confused by this outburst it did not show on his face. Sirius closed his eyes unable to look at the man he had wronged. When a trembling hand touched his neck, he leant into the contact, unconsciously seeking its warmth. The thumb brushed lightly across his cheek as it wiped away the drying tears. He drew strength from the gesture and his silver eyes opened and connected with the hazel ones.

"He said things to me... about you. Hinted that... Said you were... I believed that rat... over you. Didn't even give you a chance to explain..."

"I think it's time for you to go to bed. When was the last time you slept?"

Sirius should have known Remus would avoid talking. Anything that made the other man uncomfortable was often ignored. It was a tactic he had perfected back in Hogwarts. Not having the energy to fight for the conversation he so badly wanted, Sirius let himself be ushered up the stairs and into bed. Remus kissed Harry on the forehead as he left the room.

"Lily never thought it was you."

Remus stood frozen at the door. Sirius could see his knuckles were white as he gripped the handle.

"She told me I was an idiot. I was."

Remus' hand dropped from the doorknob and he stepped out of the room without looking back.

"Goodnight, Sirius."

...

Everything was much more intense when you were a rat. Sound was louder. Shadowy movements held added danger. Peter was used to it though. More than five years accompanying Remus had made him comfortable in this body. Such experience was unexpectedly useful as he now had no idea when he would be able to return to his human form.

He had heard Death Eaters talking. They were looking for him. The traitor had brought destruction to their Lord. Rationality was not a strong point with Voldemort's followers. Such people would not give him the benefit of the doubt or the opportunity to explain.

So Peter had decided to go into hiding. Find some way of monitoring when it was safe to come out. Whether this was when the Death Eaters were all dead or when the Order was no longer looking for him, he did not know. He hoped the Order would be more forgiving than the Death Eaters if they were to find him. Anything would be preferable to what the minions of the Dark Lord would have in store for him.

A wizard family would be ideal. How to find the right one? One not connected to the Dark Lord or the Order too closely would be best. If the information ever got out that he was an Animagus, then as a rather intelligent rat with an extended life expectancy it would not be long before his capture.

The rat was disorientated. He had scurried for so long that he was no longer certain where he was. Peter had briefly shifted forms and Apparated home to put some distance between himself and Godric's Hollow. Yet, after a brush with a group of Death Eaters he had not dared change back. How far a rat could travel in a few days was not something he had ever thought he would have to find out, but it was surprisingly far. Trees and grass and rocks surrounded him. Hours ago he had escaped the confines of civilisation and now it was a surprise to spy a dwelling at all. It was not the best location to find somewhere to hide, but better than getting caught.

When the scent of food reached him, Peter slowed. It had been too long since he had last eaten. Rat on the run or not, he would not stoop to eating out of rubbish bins. Not just yet anyway. Once Peter had found the source of the delicious aroma he headed there quickly. If he was fortunate enough, he would be able to steal some scraps.

The house was clearly a magical home he decided when he got close enough to see it clearly. A little small, it was seemingly held together by magic on the upper floors where it had been extended to provide for the family within. Peter watched for a while from the hole into which he had crept. Endless bundles of red-haired children were bumbling around the kitchen, some too young to even walk yet and others not far removed from the stroppy teenage phase and about to start Hogwarts. No wonder the building looked so precarious if new rooms had to be added for this brood.

After a few minutes a woman carrying a baby had appeared and taken charge of the children. They all sat with only a minimum of fuss. She looked familiar to Peter, and upon closer inspection he recognised her as Molly Prewitt... well Molly Weasley now. Her brothers had not only been in the Order with Peter, but were in their final years of school when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

Maybe, just maybe, Peter had found the perfect family. They were close to the Order, but not directly involved. He could gather information easily in this place. It was doubtful anyone would pay him too much attention with the amount of children they had to care for. Well maybe the children would, but most were too young to be any sort of threat.

Peter ventured from his hiding place and crept closer to the table. The smell of food was too much of a temptation for the gnawing hunger in his stomach. Whether it was his lack of food or just out of sheer exhaustion, Peter was not paying as much attention as he should have been. Before he knew what had happened he was scooped up by sticky, grasping hands and squeezed tightly. A quick attempt to escape revealed that it was impossible. The hands clamped down too securely.

"Mum! Look what I found! Can I keep him please?" A loud babble issued forth from his red-haired captor. "I want a pet."

"I suppose so, Percy dear. Just keep it away from the dining table when we're eating. Go and wash your hands again."

Peter found himself quickly deposited on the floor and some bread was dropped next to him. He ate it hurriedly and then explored the forest of legs underneath the table. Some of the other children seemed to like him as well and soon he had eaten more than his fill.

Dinner was finished. Chores were handed out. Many complaints were heard. Peter had no desire to leave a place where so many people were happy to feed him. So he was pleased to find himself scooped up, more delicately this time, taken upstairs and set down on a rather lumpy mattress.

His new owner seemed to think he cared about the sleeping arrangements of him and his brothers and prattled on relentlessly, but Peter had spotted the Daily Prophet. A childish scrawl had attempted to complete the crossword. Peter pretended to burrow under the front page to hide. Luck was with him and the boy removed it from his back and placed the newspaper, cover up this time, neatly on the floor. Reports about the fall of the Dark Lord were splattered across the headlines. Unfortunately, for the rat it was time to play.

Peter did not like play time. He was prodded and poked and pulled by many hands who all wanted to have the chance to have fun with the new pet. Anyone would think he was a toy. After a few very small nips to overeager fingers the play calmed down and he enjoyed himself a bit more. Going from a full time wizard to a full time rat was going to take some work.

Eventually, it was bedtime and Peter had the chance to read the paper. _The Boy Who Lived_, Harry was being called. _Defeated You-Know-Who_: the paper said. Any Death Eaters still out there were being hunted. Well, that was it then really. Peter did not have a choice on what he had to do. There was nothing in the report about the Potters having been betrayed. Dumbledore had probably kept those details hidden. The seeds of betrayal Peter had planted would have been rooted out as weeds by the Order now. No going back.


	3. Healing Begins

...

Dawn broke. Birds sang. Harry stirred. Sirius was up and out of his bed before the baby had murmured a sound.

He had not slept at all. Instead he had watched Harry sleep from the isolated comfort of his bed. Harry had slept peacefully through the night. Sirius did not know what the boy would remember in the future, but for now at least being present at his parents deaths had not affected his sleep.

Sirius pushed his exhaustion to the back of his mind and once dressed and washed, busied himself with feeding Harry. When it was suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly your responsibility to care for a life, everything else had to come second. Responsibility sucked the fun from feeding and nappies and baths. No more food fights, or talc fights, or water fights. It was actually important that Harry was fed and clean and dry. There was no longer anyone else to make sure that these things happened once Sirius sent him home. Harry was no longer sent home.

An owl tapped on the window and Sirius let it in and received the paper from it. The bird did not find Harry's baby food all that appetising and since Sirius paid the subscription directly from his Gringott's vault it did not stick around. Instead of his habitual flipping to the obituaries and list of missing witches and wizards, Sirius paid attention to the articles. They were about Harry, James and Lily and Voldemort. Dumbledore had been right to say things would not be the same for Harry as for any other child, but Sirius had not truly believed it until he was reading through front page news about his best friend's son. A lot of details were omitted, but it did not hide the fact it was Harry who they were talking about.

"You didn't sleep did you?" Sirius had always hated how Remus could sneak up on him. The other man sat in the empty seat.

"I-"

"Exhausting yourself will help no one." Remus plucked the newspaper from Sirius' idle hands and started to read. Discussion was not an option.

Black coffee for him, tea for Remus: Sirius could do that. The memories of actions he had performed hundreds of times before drove his body to act. He placed the tea before Remus. Remus murmured his thanks, but did not surface from behind the paper. Harry fidgeted in his highchair, unhappy with being confined now that he had been fed. Sirius amused him by playing peek-a-boo. Until his blood was properly infused with caffeine he did not plan to entertain Harry in a more energetic matter.

"I was thinking that you could go and buy some things from Diagon Alley. We've only really got the basics and there isn't enough here to keep Harry entertained for long. If you're not going to sleep, at least get a bit distance from him for a little while." Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Remus did not give him the chance. "I can look after him. That is, unless you don't trust me alone with him."

"Of course I do. You wouldn't be here if I didn't." Harry giggled as Sirius came out from hiding beneath his hand.

"You stopped trusting me."

"Yes." He could not deny it again. "Are we going to talk about this properly?"

"No. There's nothing you can say. You believed whatever lies Peter fed you instead of talking to me. What he told you will not change that. The truth of what I did will not change that."

"Will you tell me what you did? Now that the war's over."

"Maybe." Remus stood and picked Harry up. "When I trust you again." He took Harry upstairs.

It stung; made something deep within him twist tightly. He had lost Remus' trust. All his fault of course, but he could not believe it had happened. Even after the betrayal that had nearly resulted in murder, Remus had not stopped trusting him. Then again, that was before things had changed between them. The prank was before their friendship had grown to a deeper love.

Sirius grabbed his wand and some money and Apparated to Diagon Alley. Remus was right. Tired or not, Harry needed more than the meagre possessions they had now. That, and Sirius needed space to clear his head.

Colours swarmed around him. He was lost in a sea of motion. People moved past him so quickly that Sirius felt his existence had been paused as the rest of the world carried on. There was laughter ringing in his ears. Smiling faces met his eyes wherever he looked. How could these people not understand that the world was no longer right? Well, he guessed for them Harry's triumph meant something different. It meant freedom from Voldemort and his reign of terror that had lasted far too long. For them it did not mean that your best friends were dead, that one had betrayed you and that another no longer trusted you because you had been too stupid to think things through.

James and Lily had books on how to raise a baby, Sirius remembered. Well, Lily had bought them, read them and tried to force them on James who had scoffed at the idea of needing a book to tell him about babies. All they did was cry, eat and make mountains of dirty nappies, he had said. Why did he need a book to tell him that? Sirius now wondered if Lily had a point. The books might know something he did not. His family had not provided a nurturing environment for him. What if he forgot to do something important for Harry? How could he ever forgive himself if he ruined Harry's life as his parents had his?

Flourish and Blotts had a surprisingly large section of books that dealt with raising children. Sirius picked up everything that was in the section after pregnancy, but before puberty. There was time for that section later. No need to rush to it. The sale assistant looked at him in awe as he dropped the pile of books on the counter, but a knowing smile appeared when he saw the title of the top book.

"Ahh, nervous first time father, eh? I remember being there myself."

"Erm... not exactly," Sirius said as he searched through the magazines he knew Remus liked to keep up-to-date with and selected the correct ones.

Everything was paid for and Sirius helped the man shrink the books before they were placed in a single bag to make them more manageable. He left and wandered down the street. Sometimes, he stopped in shops to pick out some needed item for him, or Harry or even Remus; although he knew the other man would never ask it of him. The later it got in the day, the larger the crowds were. Every single person was too cheerful for Sirius' taste. However, one shop stopped him dead in his tracks.

Brooms. Just like the one he had bought Harry for his first birthday. Lily had despaired. She had said it was far too early for that nonsense. James had been ecstatic. Harry should learn to fly before he could walk was his opinion. His wife had given in and Harry had been allowed to keep the present. As James predicted his son had inherited his flying skills; a born Quidditch player. Again, Sirius' mind decided maybe Lily had been right on this one. Harry could fly again when he came of age.

However, other toys, those he was allowed. Anything colourful or shiny or interesting was snatched up greedily by Sirius when he made it to the toy shop. It reminded him of being in Zonko's when he was back in school. Everything and anything had seemed interesting and he had wanted it all. So he had bought it all. Now these toys could all be used to entertain Harry and make him happy and Sirius wanted that. So he bought them all too.

The cuddly stuffed black dog barked as it was placed in the bag and wagged its tail at being given a home. It had reminded him of Padfoot. A dark thought crossed Sirius' mind. As soon as he had paid and was weighed down with even more bags, he strode purposefully out of Diagon Alley and into Muggle London. Autumn wind whipped at him savagely, but it could not divert him from his purpose.

Sirius had only been to the Ministry of Magic a couple of times. In recent years he had taken it upon himself to go with Remus when he had to jump through the hoops the Werewolf Registry required. So he knew how to get in. However, he did not know where he needed to go to complete his task today. In fact, for the past six years, he had been avoiding this department at all costs.

Directions were given when asked and Sirius and his Gryffindor bravery followed them. The witch on duty looked terribly bored. Sirius imagined, given what was going on with Voldemort, that the department was not very busy. He was the only other person there.

"Excuse me?" The witch started and looked up at him. "I would like to register myself as an Animagus."

"Of course, Mr..."

"Black. But please, call me Sirius." She smiled at him and summoned some papers.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to ask." Linda, her name tag read, brushed her fingers across his hand as she handed them over. A hungry glint in her eyes.

"Thank you."

It did not take long to complete the forms. They included a lot of information he already knew as they were supposed to be filed before becoming an Animagus to aid in the transformation process. Once he was finished he went back to the desk. Linda said he would be contacted shortly so a meeting could be set up to discuss how he was getting along with things and that someone would accompany him each time he attempted his transformation until it was successful. Sirius smiled, thinking it would not take long at all for that to happen.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She purred. Why did women always feel the need to throw themselves at him?

"Actually there is one thing." She licked her lips and smiled at him. "I need to report an unregistered Animagus." Her smile vanished.

"Oh, I can't deal with that here. You need Magical Law Enforcement for that."

"Well, ok. That's everything then. Have a good day." Sirius turned and left quickly before she actually decided to pounce on him.

Luckily, the person whom he was sent to when he got to the right department was not looking to get into his trousers. The elderly wizard asked him some questions about who and what it was that Sirius wanted to report. After getting everything he could from Sirius, the man told him that although he was clearly a conscientious, law-abiding young man he did not expect them to be able to track Peter down as a rat. There were just too many normal rats out there and Peter did not have any distinguishing features in his Animagus form. Slightly dejected, Sirius had thanked him anyway and left.

Sirius knew he had told Dumbledore that he would not go looking for Peter. He had not. Instead he had done the next best thing. What he had done to help was not going to put Harry in any danger. In fact, it was going to make Harry safer. This way, Sirius never had the fear of being arrested for being an unregistered Animagus. In turn, he could not be taken from Harry. Hopefully, Sirius had made it easier for people to find Peter. After all, the more they knew the better.

Satisfied with what he had done, at least for now, Sirius Apparated home. It still annoyed him that he could not do more to capture Peter, but he would do anything to keep Harry away from the Dursleys. Instead of Apperating directly into the house, Sirius appeared outside the front door. He doubted Remus would appreciate it if he just turned up with no warning. Sirius did not want to annoy him anymore than he already had.

"Mama! Dada!" The pleading cries tore at Sirius' heart as he opened the door.

Harry's green eyes shone with tears as he stood on unsteady legs and looked up at Sirius. Remus was not far behind the toddler and scooped him up into his welcoming arms. This luckily stopped the small boy from knocking over Sirius and his many bags. Even cradled against Remus' chest Sirius could still hear Harry asking for his parents.

"Sorry," Remus muttered as he rubbed soothing circles on Harry's back.

Sirius shook his head. "Not your fault," he choked out. The bags were placed hurriedly by the door and Sirius rushed to sit on the sofa which Remus and Harry now occupied.

The small boy clung to Remus as though he was a lifeline. Sirius kissed him softly on the head. Harry looked up at him; sobs wracked his small body and tears glistened in his eyes.

"They aren't coming, Harry." Harry's eyes showed his confusion. Whether it was at Sirius' words or what they meant Sirius was not sure. "Your Mum and Dad love you very much, but they've gone somewhere they can't get back from and we can't follow." Sirius' voice cracked and Harry still looked confused, but he had stopped sobbing. "You have me and Remus to look after you now. I know we aren't them. But we're going to try our best. I promise."

**...**


	4. First Moon

**...**

"Maybe I shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous."

"Don't be an idiot, Remus. We've both done everything we can think of to make sure that it is safe. There are more precautions now than when you used to do this at home."

"But what if I escape? Oh Merlin, what if I hurt Harry? I could never forgive myself if I did anything to him."

There was very little hope of reasoning with Remus when he was like this. Sirius knew it all too well. This close to the full moon he was completely irrational, his emotions ran high as he worried constantly about the upcoming transformation.

"You will not hurt him," Sirius sighed. "You will be on the far side of the basement, behind bars, behind the door, behind the wards. We have set up silencing charms to prevent you from hearing us and others that keeps you from smelling us. What more do you want?"

"Chain me up," Remus implored.

"No! There is more than enough protection already Remus. I will not chain you as well."

"Please? If I hurt either one of you I couldn't stand it."

"No! That's final Remus. I will not have you chain yourself like an animal! Putting you behind bars is bad enough."

Remus' laugh was dry and humourless. "You seem to be forgetting that I'm worse than an animal: I'm a monster."

Only surprise had given Sirius the opportunity to pin Remus against the wall. The other man's superior strength normally would not allow this, especially not this close to moonrise. Sirius hoped that the other man had enough control to not fight back; he knew that Remus hated using the strength of the wolf unless he had to. His fingers gripped bruisingly at Remus' jaw as he forced the hazel eyes to look into his own.

"I will say this once more. You. Are. Not. A. Monster." He ground out every word. Sirius knew such a show of dominance was dangerous. Moony was so close to the surface, he saw it in Remus' eyes. The wolf never allowed himself to be subjugated in such a manner. Whilst Moony was Padfoot's alpha, Remus never succumbed to that aspect of the wolf when human. Close to the full moon, it was a very fine line as to which part of Remus would win out.

There was a snarl and Sirius found himself pinned to the floor. His back screamed in pain at the sudden impact. Remus' eyes glowed with a feral light, but his grip on Sirius' wrists relaxed. Sirius knew there would be bruises by morning. The smaller man sat back on his heels so the only place he was in contact with Sirius was where he was straddling his hips. With a small shake of his head Remus seemed to come back to himself and regain him composure.

"So-"

"Don't you dare. There's nothing to apologise for. I started it and knew how you could react. Don't even think of using this as a reason for me to chain you."

Remus shifted uncomfortably on top of Sirius and the friction did things to Sirius that he really did not think were appropriate right now.

"Go upstairs. Say goodnight to Harry. Then we'll lock you in for the night."

"Fine." Remus acquiesced. He stood and offered his hand to pull the other man to his feet. Sirius hid a wince of pain as his back twinged with the movement.

Sirius watched Remus head up the stairs and into the room he was still sharing with Harry. It had been two weeks since Lily and James had died, but he could not bring himself to move Harry's cot just yet. He knew Remus was not happy about it. The other man said it was not healthy to need to be that close to Harry all of the time. There had been reports of Death Eaters being caught, people from the Order going missing and an incident with the Longbottoms that Sirius could not bring himself to even think about. As of yet though, they had been lucky enough to not have been bothered in their little house.

So far, they had not talked about their argument from the morning Sirius had gone to Diagon Alley. Remus had been reluctant to take what Sirius had bought him. Sirius could see that he wanted the purchases, but that his pride over being provided for made him turn them down. The werewolf had claimed Sirius was just trying to get back in his good books and in all honestly, Sirius had not even thought of doing that. He had spent so long with Remus that buying him things was just second nature. Another argument was avoided by Sirius saying he would just throw them out then as he certainly did not care to find out about advances in potions, which was a lie as he cared just as much as Remus about finding anything to help with his lycanthropy. However, he would eat the chocolate he bought; that was too good to waste. Suddenly, Remus had seen the error of his ways and agreed to take the bag. Funny how threatening to eat Remus' favourite chocolate was enough to break down the last of his pride.

The basement, Sirius knew, was not what the wolf needed. Space, freedom and a pack was what was needed. He understood Remus' fears, but he also had faith that nothing would go wrong. There were so many precautions they had taken on the basement. Some that he had modified specifically for their situation and had not told Remus about. It was just a little something really. Nothing that would make anything more dangerous, but since he could not spend the night with Remus as it would leave Harry alone, he had made it so that, as Padfoot, he would be able to communicate with Moony. No human would be able to hear the wolf, but he would.

Sirius went downstairs and sat in the basement. He looked at the bars that split the room in half. On one side it was empty: the side Moony would be confined to. The other side had a small bed, medical supplies and a sink. A new place always made the wolf nervous and they did not know how badly it would react to the change in location. Additionally, the stress that had been brought about by the death of the Potters would probably make this a very bad month for Remus. Neither of them wanted to drag Remus up two flights of stairs to get him into a bed if he was badly injured so they had set up the room accordingly.

Remus did not take long to say goodnight to Harry. He joined Sirius in the basement, but on the other side of the bars. There was an ominous click as he closed the door behind him. Sirius cast a variety of locking spells as a precaution and waited patiently for Remus to disrobe. To avoid his clothes and wand getting destroyed the men made sure they were not left on the side with the wolf. Remus passed them through the bars.

Scars littered Remus' naked body and Sirius looked at them despite himself. He knew he had no right. He had lost that right when he had left, but he was too tempted not to. There were new scars. Scars that Sirius had not seen before and that tore at Sirius' gut. The last full moon they had not been with Remus to stop him from hurting himself. James was busy trying to protect his family, Sirius was avoiding Remus and Peter was just too cowardly and small to be with the wolf alone.

Sirius did not say a word as he collected the folded clothing and wand from Remus. He placed them carefully on the bed. Remus paced. The wolf hated feeling trapped. Unable to leave Remus in this state, Sirius sat on the bottom step and waited with him. After ten minutes Sirius knew the time was close. So many transformations with Remus had taught him to notice the signs.

"Night, Remus." There was a growl in response that Sirius took as acknowledgment of him leaving. "I'll be here at moon down."

Once up the stairs, Sirius locked the door with more spells, then visited Harry in his room and made sure he was set for the night before he went downstairs and transformed into Padfoot. As the dog, he could hear the screams as Remus went through his own transformation. He whimpered and pawed at the door hoping that Remus would somehow hear and be comforted by his presence. There was nothing he wanted more than to be able to help his friend through this. It was why he was an Animagus after all. There would be no Padfoot without Moony.

The noise died down. Or at least the screaming stopped. Instead, screams were replaced with growls, howls and sounds of the fully grown werewolf Sirius knew so well. He sprawled out on the floor and pressed his nose under the door as far as it would go. There was the tang of blood in the air and Sirius let out a short sharp bark. Moony had to stop hurting himself or he would end up with even more scars. The wolf growled in response, but there seemed to be less noise now. Sirius hoped it was a good sign.

He knew he needed to sleep this night. Not only would Harry need him tomorrow, but Remus as well. Although the other man would not admit to it, Remus needed help after the transformation. It was too early to sleep yet though. So he stayed by the door with Remus until he knew the wolf was as calm as he was going to get. Then he slept: on the landing, in front of Harry's door, still as Padfoot.

The screams of Remus' transformation woke him in the morning and Sirius knew it was time. Transformed and down at the door to the basement in seconds, Sirius had the door unlocked just in time to see Remus collapse on the floor broken and bleeding. His face was haggard, but Sirius had seen him look a lot worse after a full moon.

Bars were unlocked. Healing spells and healing hands worked their magic over Remus' body. Carefully, Sirius gathered Remus into his arms and laid him on the bed. The werewolf stirred, his eyes fluttered open and a smile graced his parched lips. Sirius helped him drink some water.

"Does anywhere hurt?"

Remus shook his head.

"You get some sleep then. I'll bring you some lunch in a few hours, but you need to rest first."

Remus' eyes closed once more and Sirius went upstairs for a shower to ease his aching muscles. Harry would wake soon. Today was going to be a busy day.

Harry's morning ritual of being fed and cleaned and changed was always in that order. Sirius had learnt that sequence the hard way. Remus had laughed. Apparently it was obvious that a one and a half year old should not be fed after being put in new clothes. Who knew? Well Remus did, but he knew everything.

Ritual over, Sirius collapsed into a chair and watched as his godson played with some of the toys he had been bought. There had been more outbreaks from Harry in the past few weeks when he wondered where his parents were, but part of him had seemed to accept that they were not coming back. Sirius was not sure how he felt about it. Sometimes he still expected James or Lily to walk through the door and make everything alright once more.

A few hours passed. Sirius helped Harry build block towers that soon started to resemble Hogwarts. He only realised how long they had been playing when he heard the door to the basement slowly creak open. Remus stood there: swamped in a comfortable jumper and jogging bottoms, his face drained of colour, dark circles rimmed his eyes. Sirius was at his side in a second. He fussed over him and ushered Remus to the sofa.

"I'm a grown man, Sirius. I can take care of myself." Remus' voice was hoarse.

Sirius ignored him. He forced Remus to lie down and in his exhaustion the werewolf did not protest further, even when wrapped in a blanket and plied with hot chocolate.

"Better?"

Remus nodded and took a large sip of the warm drink. Sirius knew it was his favourite. He also knew that his friend was not really annoyed at him for looking after him; just too damn stubborn to want to accept the help. At one point they had been past this, but that was another time. It was a time when Remus had more trust in him than he did now.

"I told you I'd come and bring you lunch."

"I woke up and didn't fancy spending my day in the basement. The night was bad enough."

"Sorry, I should have come sooner."

"As I said before, I'm a grown man. You have Harry to look after. You don't need to care for me as well." Pride warred with exhaustion in Remus' eyes.

Sirius dismissed his ideas with a wave of his hand. "Don't be stupid. I promised you years ago that I was always going to look after you."

"Fine." Exhaustion won. Sirius knew Remus had neither the energy nor inclination for a real argument with him.

Neither had noticed that Harry had rescued a book from the jungle of his toy box, but they did when he offered it up to Remus. Books made Remus happy. Harry knew that.

"Not now, Harry. Remus needs his rest." Sirius knelt to take the book off the small boy.

"Sirius, how about you go and make that lunch you promised me, whilst I read to Harry?"

Any protest was denied Sirius at the determined look in Remus' eyes. Instead he picked up Harry and placed him carefully on top of Remus. Once they were both wrapped securely in the blanket, Harry's head settled on Remus' shoulder, Sirius handed Remus the book. His touch lingered a second longer than necessary and he avoided looking Remus in the eye.

**...**


	5. Storytime

**...**

There were things they did not talk about.

They did not talk about their relationship. At times Sirius was half convinced it had never happened. That his mind had created it out of nothing and that all they had even been was friends. Then Remus would look at him and smile over something Harry did and Sirius would realise how stupid he was being. He had loved Remus for years and for a time Remus had loved him back.

They did not talk about money. Sirius had it. Remus did not. Both men knew that and neither had any desire to bring it up. The Marauders had never looked down on Remus because of it and Sirius was not going to start now. There were no laws in the wizarding world that specifically prevented Remus from finding a job, but keeping one tended to be a problem. As soon as it became clear what he was, he was fired. Very few wizards would risk employing a werewolf. Sirius thought they were all idiots because no one was a harder worker than Remus. The Muggle world did not care about werewolves, or at least they did not know about them so they could not fire him because of it. Instead, Remus found it difficult to find somewhere that would be flexible enough with his required days off that also paid well.

They did not talk about the funeral. It had been quiet. Very few people were invited. A simple farewell to those they held dear. Both had cried for their lost friends.

They did not talk about the war. The war had taken their friends. It had destroyed the trust between them. Even now, a few months since Voldemort had been killed there was still the threat of Death Eaters. Some lied to stay out of Azkaban where they belonged, but only if they were influential enough. When Peter was found, as Sirius was certain he would be before long, he would not be that lucky. Sirius would make sure of that.

Suffice to say, they did not talk about Peter.

However, there were things they did talk about. Mostly about Harry, the moon and what was needed from the shops, but at least they were still communicating. Not that they always needed words to communicate. One day, when he had come home from a trip to Diagon Alley, Sirius found that Remus had moved Harry's cot into the previously empty bedroom. Neither man said a word about it. Sirius had made Remus a hot chocolate.

They had settled into an easy routine. After a few initial bumps, caring for Harry became second nature. It was not as easy as when they had babysat for him in the past, but it was no longer daunting. With both of them at home Harry was being spoilt rotten, but neither cared. Harry was with them and he was safe.

Sirius' favourite part of the day was Harry's bedtime. Not only because he then got some time to relax, but also because it was story time. Deep down, ok maybe not that deep down, he was still a big kid. If it had not been for the war and having left Hogwarts he would still be pranking people on a weekly basis. Most people thought he loved his motorbike because it was cool and sexy. The reality was he loved it because it went really, really fast. Sirius had always loved stories, but what he loved more, were those told by Remus Lupin. Sirius could not get enough of Remus reading or making up stories. The usually reserved werewolf became animated, put on voices and completely swept anyone listening up into the world his words created.

Sirius settled into the beanbag chair in Harry's room that they had bought specifically for this purpose. Remus had put Harry in his cot and now it was story time. No book tonight meant a Lupin original and Sirius could barely contain his excitement.

"Once upon a time there was a... prince. These stories always have princes, don't they?" Sirius' silver eyes watched Remus as he spoke. Unlike normal, when Remus made Harry the centre of his attention, tonight he stared fixedly back at Sirius. "Well anyway, Prince Moony did not have a very happy childhood. He had a condition that meant people did not like him. They were scared of him. So, when he grew older, he made sure he did everything he could so that people wanted to be his friend. When people liked him, it made him feel better about the things he could not control." Sirius opened his mouth to comment, but Remus shook his head and placed a finger against his own lips. Listen.

"Then one day a powerful white wizard asked Prince Moony for his help. You see, Prince Moony could do things no one else could, because of his condition, and doing what the white wizard wanted would make him very happy. As I said before, Prince Moony liked people to like him and he found making people happy was a good way to do it. The white wizard was trying to stop an evil dark wizard from getting people to join him. This dark wizard was very mean and he hated people who were not born with proper magical blood. He thought it made you weak if you weren't born to one of a select few families.

"The dark wizard had decided that he needed more people to work for him, to do evil things for him and he was running out of wizards with the right blood. So he decided that he would use creatures instead." Remus paused. "Evil, dark creatures that sensible witches and wizards feared, but the dark wizard did not. He offered them things they wanted. Things he could not provide, but it did not matter to them as they were so desperate to have what he offered. The white wizard thought it was very mean of the dark wizard, and although he could not offer what the other wizard claimed either, he wanted Prince Moony to talk to these creatures and make them see there was another way. So Prince Moony did.

"At first, he was happy to do it. He went away to many places and did many things and met many different creatures. Some of them were nice to him, but others weren't and some of them hurt him." Remus' voice faltered and he looked away from Sirius. "When it was time for Prince Moony to go home, he felt very bad about what he was doing. It was not working out as well as they hoped. Prince Moony was getting hurt more and more. That made him sad because these people did not like him when he was just trying to help and he was forced to spend a lot of time away from his friends, who did like him.

"One day when he got home, Princess Padfoot-"

"Excuse me? Princess Padfoot?" Sirius exclaimed. He had been very good and kept quiet up until this point, but he was no princess!

"Princes have princesses, Sirius," Remus said with a big smile. "Isn't that right Harry?"

The little boy smiled endearingly up at Remus, his eyes barely able to stay open as he was lulled to sleep by Remus' soothing voice.

"Well Prince Moony has a prince and that's final. I'm not going to lie to him, so you had better get used to it. Princess indeed!" Sirius snorted. He fingered his hair for a moment and considered getting it cut shorter.

"Fine. So one day when Prince Moony got home to Prince Padfoot, he realised how sad Prince Padfoot was because he was away so much. He wanted to tell the white wizard that he wished to stop what he was doing, but Prince Moony knew he would not be allowed. They were making progress with the some of the creatures. Not as much as they had hoped, but a few of them no longer trusted the dark wizard to give them what they wanted. However, Prince Moony was paying a price. To gain their trust he had to do things he did not like and they would often hurt him even when he did. He never hurt anyone else though because, no matter what, Prince Moony was good and did not hurt innocent people.

"Prince Moony was now away so often that Prince Padfoot got very excited whenever Prince Moony was home. This made Prince Moony happy. But Prince Padfoot wanted to be with Prince Moony more and more and Prince Moony knew he had to hide what the people he was trying to help did to him. Not all of his injuries healed easily.

"So sometimes, Prince Moony would not come home straight away. He would go out and talk to other people. People who did not know there was a war. People who did not know that magic existed. People who did not know that they could all be in lots of trouble very soon. It made Prince Moony happy to talk to these people. He would listen to their stories about their jobs and their families and all of the boring mundane things that were happening in their lives and it made Prince Moony glad that he was helping them. Because, even if he got hurt a little bit, if he helped all of these people live, then what he was doing was worth it. But when he felt well enough to go and see Prince Padfoot things were different. Prince Padfoot did not look at him the same way as he once had and it made Prince Moony sad. More than anything in the world he wanted Prince Padfoot to be happy. But the white wizard would not let him tell Prince Padfoot what he was doing. The white wizard knew how dangerous things were and he did not want Prince Moony in any more trouble than he already was. Prince Padfoot would be mad at the white wizard for what Prince Moony had to do and would want to help Prince Moony, but he could not. So it was better that Prince Padfoot did not know.

"One day when Prince Moony came home, Prince Padfoot was not there. He waited and waited, but Prince Padfoot did not come back. It made Prince Moony very sad because he was just trying to help people and now he had lost what made him happy. Prince Moony knew that Queen Lily and King James had to go and hide with Prince Harry and wondered if maybe Prince Padfoot had had to hide too. Maybe he had not had time to tell Prince Moony he needed to go. Prince Moony knew that Prince Padfoot had a very important job to do so that Prince Harry could grow to be a king himself one day. He really hoped that Prince Padfoot was hiding when neither King James nor Prince Padfoot visited him on the full moon.

"Prince Moony was alone and it made him very sad. He thought that all of the people he loved had gone away without him. So he started to work more because then maybe he would have his friends back. One day the white wizard told Prince Moony that the dark wizard was after Prince Harry and asked if he knew where Queen Lily and King James were. When Prince Moony realised he could remember he was worried. There was special magic involved so that people would not be able to remember where the king and queen lived, but if he could, then something bad had happened. The white wizard understood why Prince Moony was so worried and sent him to find his friends.

"Not only was Prince Moony worried about what had happen, but he was confused. He knew that Prince Padfoot would not hurt King James, but it looked like he had. What did it mean? Had it not been Prince Padfoot after all? If it hadn't, why had he left Prince Moony alone? Prince Moony got to where King James lived as quickly as possible to get his answers. That's where he found Prince Padfoot.

"Prince Padfoot was so sad when he saw him that Prince Moony knew that he had not been the one to hurt King James. He knew that this meant someone else had, and Prince Padfoot had not told him. Prince Moony realised that Prince Padfoot did not trust him. Even though it hurt that Prince Padfoot had done this and even though he was mad at Prince Padfoot for leaving, Prince Moony still loved him. So he would do what it took to make Prince Padfoot happy again. Even if he was worried that Prince Padfoot would leave. Because that's what people did when they loved each other, right?"

Sirius sat there in silence. Harry had long since fallen asleep, his steady breathing now the only sound. For once in his life Sirius was speechless. It may have just been a bedtime story, but Sirius knew every word of it was true and that Remus trusted him with the information. Remus smiled sadly at Sirius, and made to leave. What he took Sirius' silence for, he did not know, but Sirius could not let him think it was rejection.

"No!" Sirius was up and had his hand wrapped tightly around Remus' wrist in a matter of seconds. "Just give me a minute to think about all this, please?" Remus nodded and made no attempt to remove himself from Sirius' grasp. Glad of the contact, Sirius did not let him go; instead he pulled the other man towards his bedroom and away from the sleeping baby.

Once in Sirius' room, Sirius let go of Remus and crashed unceremoniously on his bed. Sirius lay there and looked up at the ceiling. He could feel Remus' presence as he hovered in the door. After a few minutes of Remus shifting from foot to foot as he waited for Sirius to speak, Sirius had had enough.

"Sit down!" He barked and threw a pillow at Remus, who caught it before it could hit him and moved over to the bed. The werewolf perched as far as possible from where Sirius now sat. "Dumbledore had you working with werewolves?" Remus nodded. "Vampires?" Another nod. "Giants?" Sirius hoped this one was not the case given how large and not to mention violent they were. He was relieved when Remus shook his head and released the breath he had been holding slowly. "How could he even think to ask you to do that? Don't tell me it's because you're a werewolf. That's a stupid reason. One person seeking them out is too dangerous. How could he?" Sirius did not really expect answers.

"He needed someone to. Better me than anyone else." Remus shrugged.

"No. Better he did it himself if he wanted it that badly. Did you being a werewolf help at all?"

"A little bit with the other werewolves. They were less wary of me than a normal wizard. None of them were keen on the fact that I knew magic. I convinced some of them to join though... not that it matters now, but at least it wasn't in vain."

"What did they do to you?"

Remus stared fixedly at his hands. "I'd rather not talk about it. Nothing too serious. It's not like either group could turn me into more of a... into one of them."

Sirius edged closer to Remus and tilted his chin up so their eyes met. "Did they...?"

Sirius' question hung incomplete in the air between them. "No." Remus knew what he was thinking. Always did. "The wolves made sure I knew I had no position in their pack, but they never did that. Vampires don't really care for that sort of thing." Remus removed Sirius' hand from his chin and tilted his head to one side so that Sirius could see a series of faint puncture marks on his neck. Sirius hissed under his breath. "They're fading. I doubt they'll be there much longer."

"That's not the point. Dumbledore sent you as a snack!"

"No. I could have refused to go. I could have refused to let them feed."

"You did it willingly?" Sirius growled.

"I did what I had to."

"They could have killed you!"

"I know."

"It would have only taken one of them to be too careless."

"I know, Sirius."

Sirius flung himself at Remus, the momentum of his movement knocked the other man to the bed as he hugged him tightly. "I could have lost you."

Remus attempted to push Sirius away from him, but Sirius refused to be moved. "You left me." Remus snapped, conceding defeat at extracting himself from the tight embrace. "You just left without a word. Seems to me that it doesn't matter if you lost me or not."

"I'm an idiot alright? We both know that. I thought it was my fault, that I had pushed you away and made you work for Voldemort somehow. The flat reminded me of you and I couldn't stand to be there without you when I thought you were off with him. You never let me near you and I thought you were cheating on me. Peter said he'd seen you with people when you told me you were on Order business. Like a fool I believed him because you weren't the Remus I knew and something had to be going on. If I'd have known what you were doing I would never have thought badly of you."

"We all had to do things in secret. I wasn't the only one. It never made me think you were the traitor. I never stopped loving you."

Sirius sat up. "You think I stopped?"

"What was I supposed to think?"

"Merlin, Remus. I always loved you. I was mad and confused, but part of me hoped I was wrong and that the traitor would just out themselves and then things would be alright again. But I was selfish and I had to get away. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't bear the thought of someone else I loved going over to Voldemort. What you said...on Halloween, it was never to do with you being a werewolf."

"You still loved me?"

"No Remus, I still love you." Sirius leant down and brushed his lips against Remus'. "I still love you so much." He murmured against the soft skin before deepening the kiss. Remus moaned against his lips and pulled Sirius down so their bodies were flush against one another. For a moment Sirius was in heaven. But that was all it was - a moment.

"No." Instead of being pulled closer, Sirius was pushed away so he was no longer on top of Remus. He was confused. "I can't do this. Not yet. You still left me, Sirius. Whether you love me or not, you left without a word."

"I've said I was sorry Remus. You know what a fool I am. I'll do anything you want to make you forgive me. Please Remus, I miss you so much."

"You see me every day."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes. I miss you too."

"Then-"

"Give me time."

Sirius watched as Remus rose from the bed. Instead of leaving, Remus stripped down to his underwear and slipped beneath the covers of Sirius' bed.

"Well? Are you getting in or not? If you try anything I'll go straight back to my room though."

Sirius did not question it. He dressed for bed and scrambled under the duvet with Remus. Just being close enough to touch Remus again was enough for now. Time, he could deal with. Remus would not make him wait forever. Slowly, with cautious movements, Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' waist. When Remus leant back into Sirius' embrace with a contented sigh Sirius felt the events of the past few months slip from his mind so that all that remained was the man he loved.

"Night, Sirius."

"Night, Remus."

Yes, there were many things they did not talk about. Yet when Remus broke the rules, and it was always Remus, Sirius never complained about the results.

**...**


	6. Moving Forwards

**...**

Harry's second birthday, Sirius supposed, was much like his first. The main difference was that James and Lily were not there to share it with them. It was a quiet event; just the three of them in this case whereas last year Lily, James and Peter had also been in attendance. There were brightly coloured decorations that danced around the room. Actually dancing; Sirius had Charmed them to do so. Remus had told him it was over the top, but Sirius thought they were fun and they kept Harry more than entertained if the delighted squeals of the birthday boy were anything to go by. Even one of Harry's presents was the same as last year: a broomstick.

Sirius was not happy. Did Remus not know how dangerous those things were? How many times had James got injured when on one? Well Sirius was not letting Harry fly it. Even if Harry was excited and had yet to let it go since tearing off the wrapping paper. Damn James and his damn flying genes that he had clearly passed onto Harry. Why could he have not got the sane I'm-not-going-near-that-death-trap gene off Lily?

"I thought we decided we weren't getting him a broom?"

"Hmm, no? You decided that you didn't want him getting a broom. I thought it was a good idea. You got him one last year after all." Remus slipped an arm around Sirius waist and gave him a quick kiss. Things were slowly getting back to how they had been between them and Sirius was glad. He let Remus decide how quickly things progressed, which, unfortunately, were slower than Sirius had hoped. Although, persistence, patience and puppy dog eyes (both as Sirius and Padfoot) had helped nudge things along.

"That was different."

"How?"

"It just was. Harry, no!" Sirius slipped out of Remus' arms and wrestled the broom off Harry who had been trying to mount the floating broom that hovered just above the ground.

"Sirius," Remus admonished. "Which one of us owns a _flying_ motorbike?"

"You know everything I own is yours as well, Remus."

Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead in despair. "Fine, which one of us not only flies a flying motorbike, but takes Harry on it?"

"I do. But he's safe with me."

"Sirius, the motorbike is more dangerous than that broom will ever be. It hovers, at most, a foot above the ground and moves more slowly than Slughorn after Christmas dinner. Do you think I would buy him something dangerous?"

"No. I suppose not." Sirius lowered the broom to the ground and Harry tried to grab hold of it once more, but Sirius did not relinquish his grasp.

"Look at Harry." Sirius did and saw the excitement in his eyes at having been given a broom once more. "What would James say?"

"That I'm an idiot." Sirius sighed. "That I should be encouraging Harry to become the World's best Quidditch player and to stop being such a woman about it. Only he wouldn't say woman if Lily was listening because she'd hex his balls off."

"Exactly. So give Harry his birthday present back."

Sirius did. He watched as Harry clambered on and flew slowly around the living room. Remus was right. It did not fly that fast or that high. Harry did not appear to be in any danger and Sirius had never seen him so happy.

"I've been thinking..."

"Bit dangerous don't you think, Remus? Make sure you don't strain something."

"That would be if you were to be thinking. Not me." Remus glared at Sirius good-naturedly. "But if you're going to mock me, I don't think you get to know about it."

"About what?"

"I've been thinking that, maybe later, we move my stuff into your room permanently? It can be our room. Only if you want to of course."

"If I want to? Of course I want to! Can we do it now?" Sirius flung himself and Remus and hugged him tightly and rained kisses all over his face.

"Down puppy!" Remus laughed. "I've spent more time in your room than I have my own anyway for the last month. We might as well make it official. We'll move everything after we've cut the cake."

"Cake? I love cake."

"I love you."

**...**

"What would you say if I told you I wanted to work?"

"I'd say: Sirius Black wanting to work! Is the world ending?"

Sirius huffed and made to sit up from where he lay with his head resting in Remus' lap as he read. Remus pulled him back down and continued to thread his fingers through Sirius' soft black hair. Since Harry's birthday, any residual hesitancy had gone, now they were back to being as comfortable as ever with one another.

"Stop moving. I'd say: Sirius, if it gets you out of the house I'm all for it. Looking after Harry is not enough for you and you're like a caged animal trapped in here."

"You don't think it would be too dangerous?"

"It's not as though you'd be taking Harry with you. I suppose you want me to stay with him whilst you work?"

"Well if it's ok with you of course."

"Of course it is. You know how much I love him."

"Do you not want to work too?"

Remus sighed. "You know I do. I don't have much of a choice though. One of us has to stay with Harry and of the two of us, you are more likely to be able to keep a job and earn enough money to keep a roof over our heads. Your uncle's money won't keep us going forever and I'm almost through the money I got for my parents' house."

Sirius jerked into a sitting position, this time Remus did not have the time to pull him back down before Sirius had turned to face him. "What? You sold it? Why did you do that?"

Remus shrugged but did not look up from his book to address the other man. "I needed the money. It's not like I'm living there anymore. Where did you think I was getting money from to buy things?"

"From our account at Gringott's, you know the one I gave you the key to years ago."

"You know I don't like living off you."

"Remus," Sirius said very slowly, "put the book down and look at me." Remus grumbled, but did as Sirius asked.

"Yes, Sirius?"

"You're telling me that everything you've bought for the house and Harry and me you paid for out of your inheritance?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why not just use the money I said we could share?"

"You know I hate using your money. I hate being indebted to you."

"For Merlin's sake Remus! Take my money! Use my money! You know it means nothing to me, but your parents' house, it meant something to you."

"I'm sure they'd be more than happy to know I was using it to raise the closest thing to a grandchild they would have ever had. I don't regret how I spent my money Sirius. Don't regret it for me, it's not worth it."

"Fine. Just use the account money from now on, alright? I want you to. Swallow your pride for once."

"I'd rather just have my own job and money."

Sirius sighed and pressed a gentle kiss to Remus mouth. "I know and if I could do anything so that you could have one I would. You could do anything with that mind of yours."

"I know you would." Remus pulled Sirius down for another kiss. A deeper kiss. "I love you for it, but right now the wizarding world is not ready for it."

"How about you teach Harry? I know you always wanted to be a professor. You're already teaching him to read and write. Why not start up with magical theory when he's old enough for it? I won't pay you for it, but, you know, we could just share my money like it was your wages too. How does that sound?"

"I was going to do that anyway, as well you know, but I suppose it's better than nothing."

"Good. Now Professor Lupin, how about you teach me some things upstairs?" Sirius smirked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Remus laughed. "Oh, I don't know Sirius. Not really sure if there's anything I can teach you in that respect."

Sirius grinned.

"You're a lost cause."

"Hey!" Sirius protested as he swatted playfully at Remus. "I'll show you a lost cause." He grabbed Remus and hoisted him over his shoulder. Remus' laughter shook his body as Sirius carried him up to their room.

**...**

Sirius wanted to be a healer. Not many people knew this. Remus did. James had. But no one else had ever been let in on this piece of information. Most assumed that Sirius would want a high risk job: working with dragons, breaking curses or even chasing dark wizards. However, Sirius knew that as fun as those jobs would be, they were not meant for him. The first time he had healed Remus after a full moon he had known what he was meant to do.

It had been in their fourth year. Before the Marauders had perfected the Animagus transformations, but long after they had discovered Remus' secret. Every month the three of them had rushed out as the moon set so that they could help Remus up to see Madame Pomfrey. One month was particularly bad. Remus had not managed to make it to the bed; his unmoving form was slumped on the dusty floor of the Shrieking Shack as his body spilled what little blood it still contained. Peter had run from the room and thrown up his meal from the night before. James had clutched the door, his face sapped of colour and looking as though he was the one who had been drained of his blood. Sirius had rushed to Remus' side and done what he could to heal the self-inflicted wounds. When they had managed to get him to the infirmary they had been told Sirius' actions had saved Remus' life.

To save lives was the only career Sirius now felt comfortable to pursue. Unfortunately, he would have to train before he could be of much use. With the training there was little money and long hours, but he did not mind. As long as he could arrange his schedule around the full moon so that Remus would not be left alone with Harry, he was content. He had Remus and Harry to come home to and that was all he needed.

...

Peter was living a life better than he ever thought possible as a rat: all the food he could eat, a roof over his head and safety from prying eyes. He had grown fat and lazy over the years, but that did not bother him. Life was so much simpler as a rat and he did not want for anything. As a human he would have needed to have a job by now. He would have to provide for himself. This was so much better.

In a few years he would even get the chance to go to Hogwarts again. The place he had been happiest in his life. Before the war had truly affected them. Before he had succumbed to the lure of the Dark Lord and betrayed his friends. He did not feel remorse for his actions; Peter was rather pleased with how his life had turned out. Other than being in hiding, he had everything he ever needed.

...

When Harry was ready, Sirius explained to him about his parents' deaths. He explained the war. Told the young boy about Voldemort. Even tried to explain the prophecy, the Fidelius Charm and Peter's betrayal. Harry did not fully understand and Sirius knew it would not be the only time he would have to relive the final few years of James and Lily's lives, but he would relive it as many times as he needed to so that he could keep them alive for Harry.

When Harry questioned why his Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus did not have wives like in his story books, Sirius explained to him that love came in many forms. He explained that it was still love. Told Harry how not everyone accepted what he and his Uncle Remus had together, but that it did not stop them from feeling that way. Even tried to explain how Harry's mum and dad had helped them get together. Harry told him that he loved his uncles exactly how they were.

When Harry wanted to know about his parents, Sirius told him how they met. He explained how Lily used to hex James, yet James still loved her. Told Harry how eventually James had grown up enough for Lily to give him the time of day and how from then onwards they were inseparable. Even told Harry about some of the pranks James had pulled to try and win Lily's affections. All had backfired of course, but Harry was more than happy to listen.

When Harry went to Remus and comforted him after a full moon, Sirius watched. He smiled as Remus explained that he would be well again soon, that he was sorry for worrying the boy. Sirius did not tell Harry about Remus' condition. That was for Remus to tell. Remus did explain. For the second time in his life, Sirius listened to the story of the attack and how Remus coped as a child with his affliction. For the first time in his life, Sirius listened to the story of how the Marauders helped Remus when he thought no one ever would. When Sirius showed Harry Padfoot, the boy looked at Remus and promised one day he would do the same. That he would help Remus when he transformed just as Sirius did. Sirius watched as Remus hugged the boy to himself and tears of gratitude filled his eyes. He listened as Remus told Harry that he truly was James' son and that his father would be proud.

**...**

"Sirius!" The man had barely stepped through the door before he was met with his arms full of excitable Remus. Although it was not uncommon for Remus to be glad of his lover being home, it was unusual for Remus to be this eager. Remus' control over his emotions was well known. A moment later Remus was out of his arms and had thrust a magazine under his nose. "Look!"

Whatever it was must be important to have Remus this excited. It was rare indeed for Remus to be reduced to single words. Sirius looked at the article with interest. "Wolfsbane?"

"I can keep my mind when I transform. I won't be a danger anymore. It isn't a cure, but how wonderful would it be for me to not have to fear escaping and hurting someone?" Sirius could see tears of joy shimmering in Remus' eyes. "I wouldn't be a danger." He repeated as though trying to convince himself it was real.

Sirius pulled him into a tight embrace, his own excitement building. "That's wonderful! Can we buy it? Is it expensive? No, wait. That doesn't matter. Whatever the cost we'll buy it. Anything for you."

"It's still in the testing stages, but it looks promising. With any luck it will be available to buy soon enough or maybe even just how to brew it. You'd make it for me wouldn't you? You know I can't be trusted with potions."

"Of course I'd make it for you. Do you know how long it will be before it will be available?"

"Well it's being tested by the Ministry at the moment, the article says, so within the year I hope."

"Then we'll be the first in line to get it. I promise."

**...**

"I'm not going."

"I didn't say a word."

"But you're going to ask me to go, aren't you?"

"I think it would help you deal with what happened, yes." Remus fiddled idly with the corner of the Daily Prophet. Sirius did not need to look inside it to see what had caught Remus' attention that morning. After all, he had seen it first. His mother, the old hag, well not that old due to the joys of pure-blood inbreeding, had popped her clogs. Shuffled off this mortal coil. Was now sleeping with the fishes or any other cliché you wanted to throw at the fact she was dead.

"I don't need to deal with it. I'm perfectly fine," Sirius snorted.

"You burnt her name out of the obituary."

"She burnt mine off the tapestry!"

"This is supposed to show me you don't need to deal with this how?"

"I'm fine just how I am. They hated me and I hated them. That's all there is to it."

"Sirius," Remus sighed. Sirius folded his arms and refused to look Remus in the eye. If he looked, Remus would only say he was pouting. "Then use it as a chance to say goodbye to Regulus. Or just as a way to be free of them all forever. Just go, please."

"Why would I want to say goodbye to Reg? He was the worst of the lot of them. A Death Eater, Remus. My brother was a Death Eater. He didn't just prescribe to the pure-blood hatred they feed us as kids, he went and acted on it!"

"He made a mistake. You know he tried to get out and that's why he's gone. He regretted it, Sirius. You can't hold it against him forever."

"Well, he shouldn't have joined in the first place!"

"Oh, because at the age of sixteen you never did anything without thinking it through properly did you?" The pleading in Remus' voice had turned to anger. "You never left home and went to the Potters', you never thought it was funny to prank Severus, you never nearly made me a murderer? It must be another Sirius Black I'm thinking of then, if you think that at sixteen you were at the height of good decision making. Regulus never had the chance to show you who he could be."

"Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Compare one of the biggest mistakes of my life to him becoming a Death Eater. You know how much I regret it."

"I should give you the benefit of the doubt, but not you him? He tried to leave them. How many people do you think tried to do that, Sirius? How many were that brave? He was more like you than you are willing to admit."

"He was still an idiot."

"Yes."

"Maybe I don't hate him _that_ much."

"No, you love him."

"I do not!"

"You don't remember what you said to me, do you? When you thought I was the spy, you told me that what you were worried about was having someone else you loved going over to him. You don't hate him. You hate that you couldn't save him."

"Still doesn't mean I want to go to _her_ funeral." Sirius knew that he had lost the Regulus argument. Stupid Remus and his logic. Stupid Regulus for following the slimy Slytherin crowd. Stupid Sirius for not realising sooner.

"It doesn't matter what you want. You're going to stop behaving like a child or I'll start treating you like one. If you don't go, you're not allowed to go to Harry's birthday party next week."

"You can't keep me from my own godson's party, Remus."

"Try me."

"You wouldn't though, right?"

"You'll find out if you don't go."

"But he's only going to be five once!"

"He'll be five for the entire year."

"You won't even let me have cake will you?"

"Nope."

"Fine! I'll go, but only because it's mean to punish Harry for this. Not letting me go to his party is cruel to him too. I mean he wants to introduce me to those Muggle friends of his, I can't embarrass him if I'm not there." Sirius grinned to himself.

"On second thoughts, maybe you shouldn't go even if you do go to the funeral..."

**...**

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?" Damn, Remus was not supposed to be home this early.

"Please tell me that whatever that horrible smell is, it isn't you cooking. It smells foul and I'd like Harry to make it to his sixth birthday."

Sirius rushed around the kitchen in an attempt to hide what he was doing, but only ended up making it worse when he knocked a batch of freshly chopped ingredients to the floor. "Shit!" He mumbled to himself and cleaned them up with a wave of his wand. It had taken two hours to chop them correctly and now he was going to have to start again.

"Language!" Remus warned him as he came through the kitchen door. It was just beginning to get warm enough to be considered summer, if the weather in England could ever be thought of as summer, and Remus had traded in jumpers and trousers for t-shirts and... well still trousers, but since it had taken six years for him to even consider not wearing long sleeves in their dormitory at Hogwarts, Sirius thought it was progress enough to leave the house dressed in short sleeves. He hated that Remus hated his scars, and they had only gotten worse with time, but at least how he felt about them was not as bad as it had once been.

"He didn't hear me." Sirius said nodding in Harry's direction who, after they had entered the house, had collapsed on the sofa and was flicking through a book on Quidditch that had lots of moving pictures to keep his attention.

"What are you making anyway?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." Sirius held out the piece of parchment he had been working off that was now splattered with bits of ingredients and only just legible. Just because he could brew potions, did not mean he was tidy about it. "I got it from someone at work, he knows that Belby guy. You know the one who invented Wolfsbane? So, I thought I'd give it a try."

"Well at least that explains the smell." Remus complained, but Sirius could see the smile in his eyes that was slowly spreading to his lips. "Thank you."

"I told you I would."

"Is it supposed to smoke like that? It doesn't look good."

"I think so. It's supposed to smoke a little when it's finished, but I've still got more to add."

"Will it be ready for this month, do you think?"

"As long as I can get it looking right by the end of today it should be fine. It needs to simmer for a day and then you have to take it every day for a week leading up to the full moon."

"You aren't going to poison me with this?"

"Trust me, I'm going over everything five times before I do anything and making sure all of the ingredients are prepared perfectly. I even made sure to buy the best of everything." Sirius let Remus pull him over to the other side of the kitchen and into a hug. He lay his head on Remus' shoulder just content to stand there and be held.

"Sometimes I wish Lily were here."

"Because she'd have been able to do this with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back whilst looking after Harry and James?"

"No, because she wouldn't have made this much of a mess in the kitchen."

**...**


	7. New Friends

**...**

It had been a quiet day. This was the kind of day that always made Sirius nervous. He only had a few hours until his shift ended and he could go back home to Remus and Harry. When his supervisor came over with a piece of parchment containing the details of another case, he did not know whether to be revealed that he had something to do or to fear what it was going to be. Sirius was still fairly new; he had only qualified a few months ago and he always got stuck with either the completely lost causes or the ones so boring that no one else wanted them.

"Black." His supervisor greeted him. "Got something a little bit different for you today."

"So, not another splinching?"

"No."

Sirius sighed with relief. There were only so many people you could put back together after failed Apparition that you could put up with. He had no idea how so many people messed it up, it was not that difficult. Ok, so the first time he had Apparated, he had lost a chunk of hair and looked like a complete fool until Remus had agreed to neaten it up for him, but some people just kept coming back.

As Sirius scanned the parchment quickly, he broke out into a big smile. Finally a case he could relate to. He may not understand how people could manage to mess up most of the spells that landed them in here under his care, but pranks gone wrong, that he was an old hand at. Not that the Marauders' pranks had often gone wrong, at least not with Remus behind them. Sometimes he just saw when things were going to go wrong that Sirius and James never expected.

Sirius practically ran to the room where his patients were. He slowed as he got to the door, not wanting to show the new generation of pranksters how eager he was to meet them. The sight that met him on the other side of the door made him grin despite himself. Two boys, no more than nine years old were grinning and joking with one another even though they sat there covered in scratches, boils and... feathers? Mini Marauders indeed.

Their father, having spotted Sirius, stopped his pacing.

"Molly's going to kill me. Left my wand out and the twins got hold of it. Oh, Arthur Weasley by the way," the man, Arthur, said in a rush as he offered his hand to Sirius.

Sirius did not blame him for his panic. He had heard of Molly Weasley. A formidable woman from the accounts he had been given and these tales were from her brothers who were two of the bravest men that Sirius had ever met.

"Sirius Black." Sirius saw the sceptical look Arthur gave at his surname. Some things you just could not get away from. "Good blokes you know: Fabian and Gideon. Shame what happened to them, couldn't believe it. Took a good few with them though, yeah?"

Arthur looked at him for a moment seemingly weighed up the words. "That they were. The war took too many though."

"Yeah, it really did." Sirius said sadly as his mind wandered to James and Lily. "So what you two been up to?" He turned, addressing the still giggling boys. At least they were not worried about what their mother would think.

Sirius set about fixing both of the boys up. Nothing was seriously wrong with them and they did not seem concerned at all about being in the hospital. He had a feeling it was not the first time they had been and certainly would not be the last. As he worked he regaled them with stories from Hogwarts, of the pranks he, James, Remus and grudgingly, he thought to himself, Peter had pulled on the unsuspecting populace.

Happy that they were healed up as much as possible, Sirius straightened and turned to Arthur.

"All better. Molly won't know a thing."

"Thank you. For helping and for keeping them entertained as you did it. I don't think I've ever seen the two of them sit that still and actually listen to something. Kids of your own I'm guessing?"

"Erm... not exactly. A godson, but he lives with me."

"Must be difficult working the hours you do here to look after him." Arthur did not ask why Harry was not with his parents and Sirius was grateful. In all likelihood Arthur knew it was the war that had claimed his parents.

"Oh, well it's not too bad. I have a...partner...who looks after him while I'm at work." He hated not being able to name Remus, but there was no telling how people would react to that. The wizarding world was not too accepting of homosexuality.

Either Arthur did not notice the pause, or he did not care.

"You should all come over at some point. As a thank you for helping out these two trouble makers. I'm sure Molly would be more than happy to cook for you, that and the boys will want more stories." He scribbled his address down on a scrap of parchment from his pockets. "Just send an owl and let us know when you're free. Ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius muttered as he took the offered piece of paper. He was not sure what Remus would think. They were supposed to be keeping Harry away from the limelight, but one dinner could not hurt, right? He knew about the Weasleys from his family. Only his family did not think well of them, so they must be alright. Anything the Blacks disapproved of was a good thing in Sirius' book.

Dealing with the twins had taken Sirius to the end of his shift and so he headed home. Luckily, now that Harry was getting older, Sirius got to see him at night before he went to sleep. His godson was sprawled over the living room floor already dressed for bed. Miniature dragons that puffed out brightly coloured smoke zipped with surprising agility around Harry's head as the boy determined whether the people were going to be eaten by or befriend the dragons. An exhausted Sirius lay on the floor next to Harry and helped him decide their fate.

"Food'll be ready in five," Remus said as he poked his head through the doorway to the kitchen. "You need to be going to bed now Harry."

"Do I have to?" Harry whined and looked at Sirius trying to get a different option. "I'm going to be eight this summer. Plllllleeeease can I stay up a bit longer?"

"Not tonight, Harry. I've got some things to talk about with Remus. Put your toys away and head off to bed, please."

Harry sighed, put his toys away and hugged Sirius. "You'll think about it?"

"I'll think about it. I promise. Night, Harry." He watched as Harry dashed through to the kitchen to say goodnight to Remus before heading upstairs to bed.

As promised, Remus placed the food on the table within a matter of minutes. It was only pasta, but it was warm and tasted good.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Remus asked as he joined Sirius at the table and dug ravenously into the food.

"We've been invited to the Weasleys'. What do you think? I mean, I know Dumbledore is always warning us about the dangers of Harry getting ideas above his station being famous and all, but could it really hurt that much? He'll be off to Hogwarts in a few years anyway and surely it's better for him to know some wizards other than us?"

"I don't see why not. It's only one night and I'm sure they're a very nice family. When do they want us over?"

Sirius had expected protests. Something sensible about how what if everything was not as it seemed and it was all some trick to get Harry. However, Remus almost seemed excited.

"Really?"

"Sirius, I love you, but I miss talking to wizards who aren't you and Dumbledore and I would love to get out of this house and do something not just as us. "

"Great, I'll send an owl to them when I'm done here."

"I can't wait."

**...**

Molly and Arthur Weasley had a wonderful home. It was everything Sirius had wished his could have been growing up. There was love and laughter everywhere. Parents that cared deeply for their children instead of ones that tortured them for not living up to their dark expectations. When Sirius, Remus and Harry arrived Molly embraced them all and ushered them into the kitchen as though they were family. The only place Sirius had felt more welcome was at the Potters'.

"You must be Sirius," she said, bustling around the kitchen as she made last minute preparations to their meal for the night. "Thank you so much for helping my boys out. They're a handful those two. Going to be so much trouble when they go to Hogwarts, but at least I'll get a moments peace." She paused and turned. "This must be your godson?"

Harry offered his hand to Molly. "Harry Potter-Lupin-Black," he introduced himself. "Well Harry Potter really, but since my uncles look after me now I have their names too." Sirius glanced in Remus' direction. Harry had asked in the past if they would ever adopt him so that he could be their child and not just their godson. As much as they wished they could do they held back, not only because of James and Lily's memory, but also because Remus was not allowed to due to him being a werewolf. They had explained that whilst Sirius could adopt Harry if he truly wanted him to, Remus could not and Harry had told them that if both could not do so then he was happy with how things were.

"That's nice dear. I have a son your age I think. What are you? Six? Seven?"

"Seven, Mrs Weasley."

"Call me Molly, dear. How about you go into the living room and play with the other children. Ron's your age. You'll probably be going to Hogwarts with him in a few years."

Harry looked up at Sirius and Remus for reassurance. Sirius smiled. "Go and play Harry. I'm sure they don't bite. We'll be here if you need us."

Sirius watched Harry as he scarpered through the door and heard squeals of delight as he joined the other children. Harry had been sheltered from wizarding children and Sirius hoped this would change with the Weasleys in their lives. He knew Remus often took Harry to a nearby park and had a few Muggle friends there, but Sirius did not want Harry to be deprived of friends in the magical world as well.

"Harry Potter?" Molly spun to face the two men as though she had just had a life altering revelation. "Not... not _the_ Harry Potter?" Her gaze darted between the two men waiting for confirmation. Sirius shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Yes," he answered eventually. "You won't tell people will you? He's supposed to be living with us without people knowing where he is. We know it's been years since Voldemort-", Molly gasped, "was destroyed, but Dumbledore fears for his safety."

"Of course I won't tell anyone. Harry Potter in my house. I never thought I'd see the day." She looked up suddenly as one of the hands on the clock moved. "Oh good, Arthur will be home soon."

Sirius looked at the clock himself and was mesmerized at the ingenious design. He had never seen anything like it. Every member of the family had their own hand and it pointed to their location. Arthur's currently pointed to travelling whilst most of the others indicated that the family were all at home or in school. As the hand of the clock shuddered to a halt on home, Arthur appeared from the fireplace and brushed off his robes.

"Ahh, Sirius. Good to see you again." Arthur grasped his hand in greeting. "And you must be Sirius' partner?" He offered his hand to Remus who took it gladly.

"Remus Lupin. A pleasure to meet you."

"Arthur, why did you not tell me their godson was Harry Potter?"

"Harry Potter, dear?" He looked up at his wife in confusion.

"Yes, Harry Potter. The boy who lived. The one who got rid of You-Know-Who. Honestly, I don't know where your head is most of the time. Go and sort the children out for dinner won't you?" She asked before Arthur had a chance to respond. Sirius was sure that it was common place for this sort of thing to happen as Arthur did not seem surprised and just went through to the other room to deal with his unruly family.

When Arthur returned with the children, introductions were made. The Weasleys certainly had been busy Sirius thought to himself. He sometimes still had trouble keeping up with one child.

"We have another three boys as well." Sirius gaped at Molly. Had the women spent all of her adult life pregnant? "All older: Bill, Charlie and Percy are in Hogwarts at the moment."

"Wow!" Sirius said. "That certainly is a big family."

"Mum?" A small red-headed freckled girl pulled on Molly's sleeve. "He says he's Harry Potter. Is it really him?"

"Ginny, it's rude to talk about people like that!"

Harry clambered up onto a chair between Sirius and Remus at the table. "It's only a name. I told them that, just like you told me. It doesn't make me special or anything. I'm special because of who my mum and dad made me, not because of what Voldemort did."

Silence filled the room. Molly did not even make a sound this time at the mention of the name.

"Exactly, Harry," Remus said after a minute of uncomfortable quiet. He looked up to address Molly and Arthur. "His parents never feared saying a name. It would be wrong for him to do so."

"Right, yes, of course," Molly mumbled when she regained her composure. "Well, help yourself to some food. There's plenty to go around."

The food was wonderful. Better than anything Sirius had eaten since being at Hogwarts. Between the two of them, he and Remus could cook a meal, but there was just something lacking. Whatever it was, it was present in abundance in Molly's cooking.

"So, Remus, what is it you do?" Molly asked towards the end of the meal.

"Oh, I look after Harry. I've been teaching him some magical theory as well. There's no reason he can't be just as brilliant as his parents, so I'm just giving him a head start in some areas."

"Really? Is there any chance you could tutor mine as well? Even if it was only for a day or two a week; I could do with the break and it would be good for them."

"You- you want me to teach them?" Remus could barely contain his excitement, but Sirius could hear a vein of fear run through his question as well.

"Yes. Would you? I'm sure we could work something out."

"I'd love to. I really would." Remus reached out and grasped Sirius' hand, his face alight with a huge grin. Sirius was not sure which of them was more excited by the prospect as he was sure his smile was just as large.

**...**


	8. Old Enemies

**...**

"You promise you won't distract them? You know what the twins are like, it doesn't take much."

Sirius kissed Remus on the forehead. Harry made a disgusted face. "Eww kissing is icky! I'm never going to do it." He squealed with laughter as Sirius picked him up and tickled him before planting slobbery kisses all over the little boy's face. "Make him stop! Make him stop!"

Remus just laughed. "See this is what I mean, you can't even walk up the garden path without creating a scene! How are you going to sit still for the entire morning?"

"Aww come on Remus. I was just teaching Harry a lesson. He'll soon change his mind about kissing." Then in a stage whisper he added, "I think Ginny likes him. You know what Potters are like with red-heads." Harry pulled tongues at Sirius who pulled one back.

"Which one of you is the child again?" Sirius glanced at Harry with a wicked gleam in his eye and Remus paled. Sometimes Sirius thought Harry knew his mind just as well as James had. "Oh no! Don't you even think-" His words were cut short as he was driven to the ground by Sirius and Harry who tickled him mercilessly. After a few minutes they eased up and released him.

"Both of you, clearly," Remus panted as he tried to regain his breath.

"Don't you forget it." Sirius smirked and pulled Remus to his feet. "I promise I will not distract them at all. I just want to see Professor Lupin in action. Ok?"

"Fine." Remus gave in. "As long as it's ok with Molly."

"You'd better teach something interesting. You know how easily I get bored."

"Isn't that what I was just saying to keep you from watching? Don't worry, I have to come up with some interesting techniques to keep the twins engaged, I'm sure they'll work with you too. I don't envy their teachers when they get to Hogwarts."

They paused at the door to the Burrow and knocked. Remus had been teaching the Weasley children along with Harry for a month now and Sirius knew he loved it. It was something the man never thought he would get the opportunity to do, and whilst he was not paid well, Sirius recognized that Remus was more than happy to accept the food Molly provided and free childcare for Harry whenever Remus and Sirius wanted some alone time instead of money.

So far they had only taken her up on the offer once: for the full moon. For the first time they had spent the night with both of them keeping their own minds. The wolf may have stolen Remus' body, but it no longer took away his sense of self. Whilst not perfect, it gave Sirius hope that one day in the future there would be a cure for Remus, but at least for now it was something monumental.

The door opened and Molly smiled at the two men and gave Harry a quick hug. "They're in Ron's room dear. Go and tell them to come down for morning lessons and I'll sort out some biscuits for you all." Harry happily complied at the offer of a morning snack and ran off up the stairs.

"Sirius wants to watch today if that's ok Molly? He's got time off work and just can't keep himself occupied so wants to bother me instead"

"No problem at all Remus."

Sirius huffed. "I can hear you, you know? I'm more than capable of looking after myself for a day. I just want to see you teach."

Harry returned with the other children who all rushed to greet Remus with big smiles on their faces. Children willing to do work? Remus must be something special. Well, Sirius knew that anyway, but he could not grasp how teaching could be anything but boring.

They settled in the living room, Sirius expected Harry to want to sit by him like normal, but instead he went over and sat with Ron and Ginny and chatted away about what he had been doing since they last saw one another. He was growing up, Sirius knew that. It did not mean he was happy about it. Before he knew it, Harry would be off to Hogwarts and then he would only get to see him in the holidays. As much as Sirius wanted Harry to go to Hogwarts and have the fun that he once had, he would still miss him.

After the biscuits had been eaten, Remus got out a selection of books for the children to choose from. Sirius watched enraptured at how Remus got the children to listen to him. They were offered the choice of what subject they wanted to study. Harry had wanted to learn Defence and the Weasleys had agreed.

"Ok, what do you boys want to hear when you've finished today's work?" Sirius watched as Remus addressed the twins. Identical grins appeared on both of their faces.

"Your best prank ever." One of them said. Sirius thought it was Fred, but he was not certain.

"Hmm, ok. Sounds like a fair deal. I suppose if you work well enough Sirius may tell you a story as well." The twins looked up at Sirius with hunger in their eyes. Sirius should have known Remus would be this crafty. Those boys would do anything for prank ideas.

Remus opened the book and Sirius watched as he looked at the section they would cover today. Given how far through the book they now were, Sirius suspected Defence was more often than not the subject the children wished to learn. There was an odd expression on Remus' face that Sirius could not quite place and for a moment he was worried what the section held. It lasted only a brief time, soon replaced by a determined look that Sirius took to mean that Remus was working through something he did not want to. He watched as the other man summoned a piece of parchment and drew something on it before duplicating the image onto several other pieces: one for each child. All of the children were silent. They looked up at Remus with eager eyes as they waited to find out their subject for the day.

"Today," Remus started, "we will be looking at werewolves."

Sirius paled. Harry looked bored. The Weasley children looked wide-eyes at Remus with excitement.

"Cool!" Ron breathed. A wide grin spread across his face. "So much better than Hinkypunks."

Remus handed each child a piece of parchment. "I want to see what you all know first before I teach you some things. There's a picture of a wolf for you all. I want you to add to it and change it with all of what you know about werewolves, ok?" As Remus passed Sirius he gripped Sirius' hand in a gesture that told him that he was fine. Sirius did not have to worry. He relaxed and let Remus continue with his teaching.

Muggle pencils, felt tips and crayons were provided and the children scrambled to get them and start on their work. Sirius watched the looks of concentration on their faces with fascination. Something so simple kept them occupied and yet let them learn at the same time. The teachers at Hogwarts would have never thought of doing this to help them learn. He shuddered at the memory of being taught about werewolves by their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. It had been their third year, a particularly bad year for them as their Defence teacher was not only a terrible teacher, but when he had taught them about werewolves he had focused solely on how to recognise and kill them. He had not taken his eyes off Remus the entire time much to all of the Marauders' discomfort. The teacher had been the focus of their pranks for the next few weeks until he started to teach something else.

Remus flicked through the chapter on werewolves for a while before standing before the children once more. All but Harry were starting to get restless having completed their drawings.

"Ok, I want a different thing from each of you. Harry, you can go last if you haven't finished." Harry just nodded and kept drawing. Sirius was curious to see what his godson had added to his picture. "Ladies first then, Ginny, tell me something you know about werewolves."

She stood and held up her picture for them all to see. Sirius could tell she did not know much about them as her picture still mainly looked like a wolf. "Erm, they have tufted tails which normal wolves don't." She said tentatively and looked at Remus for reassurance. He smiled at her and told her she was correct and she smiled back.

Next was Ron who said that werewolves had different eyes and again he was rewarded with being told he had got it right. The twins stood together and Sirius glanced at Remus when he saw what their pictures looked like.

"They have different snouts," Fred said.

"All the better to eat people with," George added showing off his picture that had been scribbled on with lots of red felt tip to represent blood.

"Well, yes, I suppose that can count as two things that are correct boys. Maybe less red next time though?" Remus said. Sirius could tell that he was flustered. "Werewolves do attack people if given the opportunity."

Harry was the last to stand. "Mine isn't finished properly." The boy said as he looked between Remus and Sirius. "I did the best I could though."

He held up the picture and Sirius could not help but smile. Harry had added many things to his picture. There was a full moon in the sky, he had added details to the wolf itself, and next to the wolf was a picture of a man.

"A werewolf is only in its wolf form one night of the month. The rest of the time they look and behave just like normal people." He pointed at various areas of his picture as he explained himself. "Werewolves are not allergic to silver, they do like to have their meat a little bit on the rare side, but they do not want to eat people unless they are in their wolf form. Even then, as long as they take the Wolfsbane potion, they will not want to because they can keep their mind. Well most don't anyway; it is very rare that a werewolf in human form would want to attack a human. Those are the werewolves that are dangerous. Only a bite from a transformed werewolf will turn you into one as well. Werewolves are normal people." Harry looked up at Remus. "Did I miss anything?"

Sirius was not sure whether he or Remus was more proud of Harry. They both knew he understood that not everyone would accept Remus, but had never really thought about what the boy would say if people were to talk about them in front of him.

"Thank you, Harry." Sirius heard the emotion in Remus' voice. "That was very good. For the rest of the morning we'll go over the information in the book and you can add everything you don't already have to your pictures."

Sirius sat content to watch Remus teach. He kept his promise and did not distract the boys and before he knew it, it was time for lunch. Molly had made food for him as well, for which he was very grateful.

**...**

Before he knew it, having dinner at the Weasleys' became a weekly event. Harry and Remus spent most of their weekdays there, except when the full moon interfered. Even then Harry would spend the night so that Remus would no longer have to be alone as Sirius could be with him. The friendship between not only the children, but the adults grew and although Sirius and Molly would often clash with what information Harry and his friends should be allowed to have and when, they still respected one another as they knew that they both only had the best interests of the children at heart.

They had yet to meet the elder Weasley children who had spent their holidays at Hogwarts, Sirius suspected to give their parents a bit of a break from having all seven of them in the house, but as summer approached and Remus' own lessons got fewer and farther between, the children were coming home.

Sirius had to admit that he was rather interested to find out what the elder Weasley children were like. He knew well enough now that the children tended to go one of two ways. Either pranksters like the twins or more reserved and thoughtful like Ginny. Bill would be off out into the world on his own soon and Sirius wanted the chance to meet the boy who not only had held the Head Boy position, but wanted to work as a curse breaker. Sirius hated to admit it, but he felt as though in another life they would have been great friends at Hogwarts; he sounded similar to James.

As he and Remus got ready for the night at the Weasleys' where they would first meet Bill, Charlie and Percy, Harry babbled excitedly. He was eager to meet the other children as well since Ron told him many stories about how cool they were, especially Bill and Charlie. Percy seemed to be the somewhat white sheep of the family who actually studied and had no interest in pranks or anything well... interesting.

When they arrived outside of the house, Harry did not waste a moment and had flung open the door with a shout of "Ron!" as he went.

"How many times do I have to tell him not to treat it like it's his own house?" Remus grumbled good-naturedly as he knocked on the open door. "He gets it from you, you know."

"Nah, he gets it from James," Sirius said as he grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him through the open door into the kitchen to greet Molly. "From Lily he understands that you don't barge into peoples' bedrooms without knocking. Something that she really should have made James understand, or don't you remember? Not too early are we Molly?"

"No, not at all. Just in time to set the table." She pointed at a pile of dishes and cutlery as she finished the food and Sirius levitated them onto the table into the correct places.

Soon enough all of the children were at the table. As always Arthur had been sent to fetch them. Percy was the last to arrive. Apparently he was doing his Hogwarts' work only a week into the holidays. Sirius did not understand this boy at all.

As Percy came down the stairs, Sirius noticed a change in Remus. The other man looked at the boy with a look of complete confusion on his face. Before Sirius could ask what was wrong Remus had spoken.

"Peter!"

"No Remus, that's Percy."

"No Sirius, he's holding Peter!"

Sirius took a look in the direction of Percy where he now saw the rat that squirmed and wriggled in the boy's grasp.

Sirius lunged. Molly screamed. Harry stared.

When Molly realised that her guest had not been trying to attack her son, but instead was only after their rat, the screaming stopped. However, the shouting started.

"What do you think you are doing Sirius?" Molly shrieked at a pitch Sirius had not thought humanly possible.

Sirius stood with the squirming, biting and scratching rat clamped in his hands. The look on his face was one of pure hatred. Percy had not moved from the bottom of the stairs and looked as though he was going to faint on the spot.

"Peter!" Sirius ground out. It was not in answer to Molly, just in acknowledgment that it truly was his ex-friend and once fellow Marauder. "Did you really think you could hide from me forever?"

Sirius heard Remus ask Harry to take the other children out of the room before he attempted to placate Molly and Arthur. The words came to him as though he was submerged under water: faint and garbled but he could still hear them. Remus was asking how long they had had him and did they not find it strange a common garden rat was still seemingly in the prime of heath given its age. Sirius just thought that Peter had gotten fatter. Never could help himself when food was involved.

"Erm, Sirius? We should probably turn him back. It will help you look less crazy because you're currently mumbling to a rat," Remus whispered to him.

With a nod, Sirius took out his wand and both he and Remus cast the spell together. What once was a rat began to grow. It shifted and twisted and assumed the form of a man. Sirius' hand was still clamped firmly on the back of his neck.

"Peter," Sirius and Remus said.

"S-s-s-Sirius... R-r-Remus." Peter stuttered, not meeting either man in the eye; instead he looked around frantically for some way to escape.

"Pervert!" All three men looked up in shock at Molly. "He slept in a bed with my son for years! Pervert!" She advanced on Peter like a tigress whose cubs had been threatened and before anyone could stop her she had slapped Peter soundly. To avoid her doing it again, Remus had stepped between them.

"Molly, look there are many things Peter has done wrong in his life that he really needs to be punished for, but he would not have harmed Percy. Percy was the one who kept him safe."

"I don't care what you think! He still slept in his bed!" Arthur who seemed to have regained his sense pulled Molly towards him.

"Let them explain, Molly? We don't even know who he is."

Although Molly looked in no mood to agree to listen she did not try to strike Peter again. Peter cowered against Sirius in an attempt to avoid Molly's wrath. When Sirius realised what the man was doing he shoved him roughly forwards whilst still keeping a firm hold of him.

"This thing is the reason Harry has no parents," Sirius snarled. Peter shook his head wildly. "You can't deny it Peter. We know it was you. I was the one who switched with you!"

"H-h-h-he m-m-made me. He was pow-powerful S-sirius. You don't understand."

"What is there to understand Peter? You sold us all out for a year. You tried to poison our minds against one another. You led him right to them. We would have never betrayed you like that. We would have died for you."

"Th-they a-a-accepted me," Peter stuttered. "They didn't leave me out."

"Leave you out? You got your best friends killed because you felt left out? Merlin help me Peter, if I did not have Harry to look after you would be very, very dead by now. We never left you out and that is a piss poor reason for siding with VOLDEMORT!"

"Uncle Remus?" Sirius' head snapped up to the door where a mop of untidy black hair and green eyes hidden behind glasses was peering through the crack. "I heard shouting. Can we go home now?" The small boy moved to stand next to Remus and clutched at the sleeve of his robes. "Who's he?"

"H-h-Harry, you look so much like-" Before Peter could finish his sentence a flash of red had cut him off and he slumped in Sirius' grasp.

Sirius looked in shock at Remus who although he had not moved, had his wand out or uttered a sound had stupefied Peter. "He had no right." Was all Remus said before he strode over to Sirius and kissed him on the cheek. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that Sirius had never seen outside of the full moon. "I'm taking Harry home. Deal with all of this and join us soon, all right? It was nice seeing you Molly, Arthur, but I need to take Harry home now. I'm terribly sorry."

Sirius watched as Remus scooped a protesting Harry up into his arms and left.

"Don't suppose you know any Aurors who could come and deal with this?" Sirius asked as he let go of the unconscious man who fell unceremoniously to the floor.

**...**

When Sirius finally made it home, he headed straight for the bedroom that he shared with Remus. Only instead of finding Remus waiting for him he found an extra guest. Remus had always been very strict about Harry sleeping in his own bed, no matter the nightmares he had. It was only on a very rare occasion that Remus would let Sirius win the argument and let the frightened boy stay in their room. So when Sirius opened the door to find Remus protectively curled around Harry he suspected that Harry was not the only one who had needed the comfort.

Sirius dressed for bed quickly and slipped under the covers on the other side of Harry. He wrapped his arms around both of them, but the touch caused Remus to stir.

"What happened?"

"Life in Azkaban. There's going to be a trial, but it looks like it's just a formality. I'll have to testify."

"Mmm."

"Are you and Harry ok?"

"I tried to explain more about what Peter did, why you were upset, but it's a lot you know? He was worried about you. He doesn't like to see you upset or angry."

"What about you?"

"I just want it to be over now. Everyone else got to forget the war when it ended. Not that I'd ever want Harry to be with anyone else. I want us to be a nice normal family that doesn't have to still live in fear. Well at least I want to be as normal as a werewolf, the boy who lived and the remaining member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black can be."

"So, not very normal then?"

"No, I guess not. Do you think this will change anything?"

"In what way? I suppose we could always move now. I think Harry is as safe as he's ever going to be. No Peter out there anymore. No Voldemort. No Death Eaters willing to break their cover."

"So it's over?"

"I think so."

"Good. We can look for a new place in the morning then. I'm running out of space for my books in the spare room and Padfoot needs a garden to run in."

"Then that's what we'll do." Sirius smiled and, for the first time in years, let himself relax.

The End


End file.
